Asian stocks surge on Europes hope

The Nikkei average climbed nearly 2 percent on Thursday, moving away from a 2-1/2 year closing low hit the previous day as investors bought back shares after France and Germany said Greeces place remains in the euro zone.Tech shares rose and Elpida Memory soared after the memory chip maker said it may shift some production to Taiwan from Japan to cope with the yens strength and survive in a dwindling market.Although there are still widespread fears that Greece will ultimately default on its debt, sentiment for riskier assets got a lift after Europes top bureaucrat said plans for a common euro zone bond, seen by many as a key tool to ease the regions debt crisis, would soon be presented.Immediate resistance for the Nikkei lies at 8,700 and then at 8,732, which was the settlement level for Nikkei futures and options expired in September, traders said.But analysts said that despite Thursdays rise, Tokyo stocks will likely face downward pressure in the next few weeks amid ongoing concerns about Europes debt problems.The market is not moving in one direction. Its merely buybacks as volume remains low, Masatoshi Sato, senior strategist at Mizuho Investors Securities. But due to Japanese stocks attractive valuations, they may outperform their global peers.The Nikkei finished up 1.8 percent at 8,668.86, regaining the ground it lost on Wednesday when it fell 1.1 percent to 8,518.57, its lowest finish since April 2009.The broader Topix index added 1.4 percent to 751.76. Volume was thin, with about 1.68 billion shares changing hands on the Tokyo stock exchanges main board, below last weeks daily average of 1.82 billion shares.