TOKYO, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks closed higher Thursday with the benchmark Nikkei stock index finishing at a two-month high as Wall Street's lead set a positive tone along with a weak yen, with sentiment further bolstered by hopes the U.S. Federal Reserve will hike interest rates sooner than expected.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average gained 171.26 points, or 0.88 percent, from Wednesday to close the day at 19,564.80, marking its highest close since Jan. 5, while the broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange added 11.60 points, or 0.75 percent, to end at 1,564.69.
Issues that made notable gains by the close of play comprised nonferrous metal, securities, and glass and ceramic product-linked stocks.
All industry categories closed in positive territory and rising stocks outpaced falling ones by 1,457 to 421, on the First Section.
Trading volume rose from Wednesday's 1,993.64 million shares to 2,210.38 million shares on the main section.
The day's turnover on the penultimate trading day of the week was 2,532 billion yen (22.18 billion U.S. dollars).
