Nintendo shares soar on bumped-up forecast

Japanese game maker Nintendo raised its outlook for its annual profit by 23 percent, due to soaring sales of its popular Wii and Nintendo DS, prompting its stock to jump nearly 8.4 percent on Friday.

Shares of Nintendo, which trades on the Osaka Securities Exchange, closed at 51,800 yen--up 8.368 percent and marking its largest one-day gain in nine months, according to a Bloomberg report.

The company said it expects to post net income of 410 billion yen, or $3.8 billion, for the year ending March 31, surpassing Wall Street's expectations of 382.6 billion, according to Bloomberg. That anticipated performance marks a 59 percent increase in profits over the previous year.

Nintendo's increased outlook is driven by stronger-than-expected sales of its Wii console, which are expected to increase 42 percent for the year, as well as a reversal of its projections for its DS game player. The company now expects its year-over-year DS sales to rise, rather than drop, according to the report.