Nikkei climbs to 33-yr high on slowing U.S. inflation

Tokyo stocks opened higher Wednesday, with the Nikkei climbing to a new 33-year high after U.S. data showed slowing inflation, reinforcing the view that the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates steady at its meeting this week.

In the first 15 minutes of trading, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 309.24 points, or 0.94 percent, from Tuesday to 33,327.89. The broader Topix index was up 20.57 points, or 0.91 percent, at 2,285.36.

Gainers included transportation equipment, iron and steel, and nonferrous metal shares.

At 9 a.m., the U.S. dollar fetched 140.15-16 yen compared with 140.19-2...