Tokyo  - Tokyo stocks started to climb up Tuesday after the benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average earlier fell to its lowest level in 26 years to 7,000.

At 1:33 pm (0433 GMT) the Nikkei gained 216.43 points, or 3.02 per cent, to 7,379.33. Earlier the Nikkei had fallen to 7,000, its lowest level in 26 years.

Japan Tuesday imposed a ban on naked short selling to try to stabilise Asia's largest bourse, following similar crackdowns in the United States, Australia and some European markets.

Short sales involve selling borrowed shares in the hope of buying them back later at a cheaper price to make a profit. With naked short-selling, traders sell stocks before even borrowing them.

The short-selling ban was to be effective as of November 4 but the government brought forward the move after the Nikkei stock index plunged to a 26-year low to help calm domestic stock markets, Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa said.

On currency markets at 9 am (0000 GMT), the dollar was quoted at 93.20-25 yen, up from Monday's 5 pm quote of 92.95-98 yen.

The euro was quoted at 1.2461-66 dollars, up from Monday's 5 pm quote of 1.2441-43 dollars, and at 116.13-23 yen, up from 115.65-69 yen. dpa ln pw