Tokyo stocks open sharply higher on Wall St. gains

Tokyo stocks opened sharply higher Monday, with the Nikkei up over 2 percent, tracking Wall Street gains late last week amid easing fears of further interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.

In the first 15 minutes of trading, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 657.32 points, or 2.06 percent, from Thursday to 32,607.21. The broader Topix index was up 32.45 points, or 1.40 percent, at 2,354.84. Japanese financial markets were closed Friday for a national holiday.

On the top-tier Prime Market, gainers were led by nonferrous metal, transportation equipment and wholesale trade issues.

At 9 ...