TOKYO, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo shares opened higher Friday morning, with the Nikkei index hitting a roughly 10-month high, on strong U.S. stocks overnight and rising expectations for a near-term U.S. rate hike.
As of 9:15 a.m. local time, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 155.14 points, or 0.87 percent, from Thursday to 18,017.77.
The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was up 9.59 points, or 0.67 percent, to 1,432.67.
Gainers were led by transportation equipment, securities and bank issues.
