Nikkei posts record gain; Europe opens higher

TOKYO, Japan (CNN) - Japan's Nikkei index posted an impressive rally on
Tuesday, surging to single-day record of 14.15 percent - at least partially
sparked by anticipation of more government investment in ailing banks.

"Last week the Nikkei got hit the hardest - down more 20 percent. Now it
surges the highest," said Jesper Koll with Tantallon Capital Research in Tokyo.
"The system is starting to work. We can see that credit markets are starting to
stabilize."

European markets opened strong for a second straight day, with London,
Paris and Frankfurt all up more than 5 percent in early-afternoon trading.

Iceland's stock exchange reopened Tuesday for the first time since
trading was suspended Wednesday, opening a dramatic 76 percent lower than its
closing value last week.

Icelandic officials cautioned, however, that the new value reflected the
absence of three big banks that were nationalized last week and are therefore
no longer trading. Those banks represented 80 percent of Iceland's stock market
before the recent rumoil led to their suspension on the exchange.

Taking that into account, exchange spokeswoman Kristen Johannsdottir said
the market was down only 2 percent in early trading.

One trader in Iceland told CNN that some shares were actually up for the
day.