Tokyo Stocks Rise Following Wall Street Gains

Tokyo stocks opened higher on Tuesday, following gains on Wall Street. The Nikkei Stock Average rose 301.89 points, or 0.43 percent, to 70,248.75 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The broader Topix index climbed 16.40 points, or 0.40 percent, to 4,161.62. Investors locked in profits after the Nikkei briefly surpassed the 70,000 mark the previous day.

Leading the gains on the Prime Market were service, nonferrous metal, and insurance stocks. The U.S. dollar was trading at 157.97-98 yen at 9 a.m., compared to 157.84-94 yen in New York and 157.65-67 yen in Tokyo at 5 p.m. Monday. The euro was quoted at $1.1217-1217 and 177.18-20 yen, with slight variations from its previous day's levels.