Tokyo stocks open higher on Wall Street's lead after Fed's statement on tax hikes

TOKYO, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks opened higher Thursday following Wall Street's solid overnight lead after the U.S. Federal Reserve issued a statement intimating it will hold fire on hiking its interest rates.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 270.54 points, or 1.32 percent, from Wednesday to 20,827.08, in the opening minutes after the morning bell.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, gained 21.14 points, or 1.36 percent, to 1,571.90.

Mining, oil and coal product, and electric appliance-oriented issues comprised those that advanced the most in the first 15 minutes of trading.