Tokyo stocks open modestly higher on Wall St. gains

Tokyo stocks opened modestly higher Thursday as investor sentiment improved on the back of overnight gains on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones index rose for the first time in seven trading sessions. In the first 15 minutes of trading, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 177.05 points, or 0.68 percent, from Wednesday to 26,351.03. The broader Topix index was up 1.13 points, or 0.06 percent, at 1,856.28. On the top-tier Prime Market, gainers were led by mining, pharmaceutical, and service issues. At 9 a.m., the dollar fetched 144.39-40 yen compared with 144.06-16 yen in New York and 144.55-...