Tokyo stocks open slightly higher on year-end dividend payments

Tokyo stocks opened slightly higher Wednesday as investors bought a wide range of issues to secure rights to year-end dividend payments, although advances were limited by an overnight fall on Wall Street.

In the first 15 minutes of trading, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 69.56 points, or 0.25 percent, from Tuesday to 27,587.81. The broader Topix index was up 4.77 points, or 0.24 percent, at 1,971.44.

On the top-tier Prime Market, gainers were led by mining, pulp and paper, and rubber product issues.

At 9 a.m., the dollar fetched 131.02-05 yen compared with 130.87-97 yen in New York an...