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Asian shares have risen sharply, boosted by comments made by Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke that the US economy is approaching recovery.

Japan's main Nikkei 225 index rose 342.9 points, or 3.4%, to 10,581.1, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.9%.

Other regional markets also performed well, while European shares moved higher in morning trading.

Mr Bernanke's comments, made on Friday, along with record US housing data, have boosted investor confidence.

Markets in Thailand and South Korea advanced by 1.8%, in Taiwan and Australia by 2.8%, and in India by 2%.

Thailand was also buoyed by official figures showing the country has emerged from recession, with the economy growing 2.3% between April and June compared with the previous quarter.

The UK's FTSE index was up 1.1%, France's Cac 40 climbed 0.8% and Germany's Dax rose 0.9%.

The Fed boss told a conference in Wyoming last week that the prospects for a return to growth in the near term appeared "good". Separately, figures released in the US on Friday showed existing home sales rose by 7.2% in July.

'Too excited'

"The rally reflects the changes in external environments for Japan - that is mounting expectations that the US economy will recover," said Ryuta Otsuka at Toyo Securities.

However, he cast doubt on how long shares would keep rising, given the uncertainty of the forthcoming general election in Japan.

Such caution was reflected by some European analysts.

"Markets have been reflecting the government stimulus around the world and getting far too excited. We have to be extremely careful of the market getting too carried away and investors losing track of valuations," said Justin Urquhart Stewart at Seven Investment Management.

Last week, the Dow Jones index in the US finished 156 points higher at 9,506, its highest level in nine months.