Tokyo stocks open slightly higher on bargain-hunting

Tokyo stocks opened slightly higher Thursday on bargain-hunting after a five-day losing streak, supported by overnight gains on Wall Street.

In the first 15 minutes of trading, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 74.29 points, or 0.24 percent, from Wednesday to 30,601.17. The broader Topix index was up 10.08 points, or 0.45 percent, at 2,228.97.

On the top-tier Prime Market, gainers were led by electricity and gas, air transportation and financing business issues.

At 9 a.m., the U.S. dollar fetched 148.97-149.00 yen compared with 149.06-16 yen in New York and 148.84-85 yen in Tokyo at 5 p....