Mumbai, March 17 -- Japanese markets rose sharply, with gains seen across the board following a surge in U.S. stocks at the end of last week.

The Nikkei average jumped 0.93 percent to 37,396.52 while the broader Topix index settled 1.19 percent higher at 2,748.12. Chip-related stocks climbed, with Advantest and Tokyo Electron rising 2-3 percent.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries soared 12.2 percent, Kawasaki Heavy Industries surged 6 percent and IHI Corp added 9.7 percent on expectations that Japan may beef up its defense spending in the future.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Capital Market....