Japanese stocks erase early losses to advance on hopes for Washington stimulus plan

Japanese stocks recovered from an early plunge Friday as investors scooped up shares that have been beaten down in recent days.

While investors remained worried that a possible U.S. recession could hurt exporters' profits, they were heartened by hopes for emergency stimulus measures that U.S. President George W. Bush planned to outline later in the day.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index rose 77.84 points, or 0.57 percent, to close at 13,861.29 points on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The index broke a four-day losing streak Thursday, when it jumped 2.07 percent.

The Nikkei fell as much as 3 percent in early trade, sliding in the wake of an …