Tokyo shares opened slightly higher early Thursday morning on strong U.S. stocks overnight as well as a rise in crude oil futures.
As of 9:15 a.m. local time, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 56.01 points, or 0.33 percent, from Wednesday to 17,054.92.
The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was up 2.45 points, or 0.18 percent, to 1,359. 65.
Gainers were led by real estate, utility, and warehousing issues while decliners were led by insurance, precision machinery and textile shares.
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