Tokyo stocks advance in morning on Wall Street's gains, investors eye U.S. data

TOKYO, July 14 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks advanced moderately Friday morning as Wall Street's overnight gains set a positive tone, although some investors hit the sidelines ahead of a raft of U.S. economic data due out later in the day.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average gained 45.01 points, or 0.22 percent, from Thursday to 20,144.82.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange added 8.12 points, or 0.50 percent, to 1,627.23.

Nonferrous metal, transportation equipment, and iron and steel-linked stocks comprised those that gained the most by the morning break.