Japanese stocks rebounded¹ as concerns over the long-term impact of Friday's earthquake and tsunami² on Japan's economy ease.

随着对上周五地震、海啸对日本经济长期影响担忧的减弱，日本股市开始回弹。

Japanese companies saw their valuations drop over the past two days due to the massive sell-off
The Nikkei 225 index was up 3.0% in afternoon trading.

On Monday and Tuesday, the index dropped more than 16%, its biggest two-day fall in 23 years.

Investors³ have been cautiously optimistic about a recovery despite reports of another fire at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Stocks of financial companies, exporters and car companies like Toyota and Nissan Motors were amongst the big winners.

These sectors⁴ and stocks were amongst the hardest hit in the sell-off following the earthquake and tsunami.

'Extremely volatile⁵'

A spike⁶ in radiation levels at the Fukushima nuclear plant has forced workers to suspend their operation according to a government spokesman.

Analysts⁷ have warned that developments at the plant will have an impact on the markets.

"The market is still extremely volatile," said Norihiro Fujito of Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.

"All eyes are on the nuclear plant and the Nikkei will move according to the news about the plant," he added.

There have been concerns about a meltdown at the plant after it was hit by explosions.

The reactor⁸ was the worst hit by the earthquake in Japan.