Tokyo stocks advance in morning tracking gains on Wall Street overnight

TOKYO, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks advanced Thursday morning, as investor sentiment was bolstered by solid gains on Wall Street overnight but the yen's firmness against the U.S. dollar weighed on some exports issues.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average gained 280.46 points, or 1.33 percent, from Wednesday to 21,434.63.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, added 19.45 points, or 1.14 percent, to 1,722.17.

Services, insurance, and banking-linked stocks comprised those that gained the most by the morning break.