This file photo shows the Tokyo Stock Exchange. (Mainichi)

       TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Tokyo stocks rose Thursday as investors were heartened by a weakening of the yen against the U.S. dollar and a report that China's Evergrande Group had made interest payments, easing concern about a potential default.

       The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended up 171.08 points, or 0.59 percent, from Wednesday at 29,277.86. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange finished 6.34 points, or 0.32 percent, higher at 2,014.30.

       Gainers were led by nonferrous metal, wholesale trade and precision instrument issues.

       The U.S. dollar held firm around the 114 yen line during Tokyo trading after October U.S. consumer prices marked the biggest inflationary surge in nearly 31 years, triggering a spike in U.S. long-term bond yields and fueling expectations that the interest rate gap between the United States and Japan would widen, dealers said.

       The Nikkei briefly climbed over 200 points on a weaker yen, which inflates exporters' earnings when repatriated from overseas.

       Among major exporter issues, Toyota Motor gained 24.5 yen, or 1.2 percent, to 2,030.0 yen while Sharp went up 14 yen, or 1.1 percent, to 1,330 yen.

       Investors also welcomed a Bloomberg report that said China's debt-ridden real estate giant Evergrande Group has made delayed interest payments on three U.S. dollar bonds, again narrowly averting default, brokers said.

       But as Evergrande Group still has to make similar payments toward the end of this year, investors are expected to continue to watch the issue closely, said Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities Co.

       On the First Section, declining issues outnumbered advancers 1,233 to 860, while 90 ended unchanged.

       The market was also supported by investors scooping up companies that have released positive earnings and bright outlooks.

       Toppan Printing surged 145 yen, or 8.1 percent, to 1,932 yen, after it raised its net profit forecast for the business year through next March.

       Trading volume on the main section rose to 1,190.30 million shares from Wednesday's 1,153.29 million shares.

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