The market staged a sharp turnaround from the recent slump after Industrial Bankof Japan Ltd (IBJ), one of Japan's top 19 banks, unveiled a plan to ask for public funds to prop up its capital. Investors welcomed the news which came at a time when top banks were thought to have been avoiding the use of taxpayers' money in exchange for tough restructuring demand from the government, brokers said.

``The market has unmistakably turned around for the better, thanks to planned capital injection into banks, another economic package likely to be complied in the upc oming extra session of parliament and the seven-day winning streak on Wall Street,'' Okasan Securities Chief strategist Tetsuya Ishijima said.

New York shares rose for the seventh straight trading day Thursday. ``Now that short selling in Japan ismore tightly regulated from October 23, hedge funds are buying back a massive amount of bank shares,'' Ishijima said.