YEREVAN, May 20. /ARKA/. The Nikkei share average surged to a fresh 5-1/2 year high on Monday, buoyed by further weakness in the yen and optimism over the growth outlook after the Japanese government raised its assessment of the economy for the first time in two months.

Signs of an improving U.S. economy and Wall Street's record closing high on Friday cemented the positive mood in markets.

The Nikkei climbed 1.5 percent to 15,360.81, the highest closing mark since December 2007. During the day, the index rose as high as 15,381.74, the highest level for the same period.

The Nikkei has gained 48 percent this year, and it has added more than 8 percent since May 9, when the dollar broke above the 100-yen level.

The government's monthly report said that economy is gradually recovering, which was an upgrade from last month, when it said the economy was showing signs of recovery but still had
some weak spots.

The upgrade highlights the success of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's policies, which combine stimulus spending with aggressive monetary easing to pump-prime the economy and are resulting in a
sharp weakening of the yen. –0--