1st LD Writethru: Tokyo stocks close higher amid expectations for U.S. tax reform

TOKYO, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks closed higher Monday tracking gains on Wall Street at the end of last week amid hopes for the passage of a key U.S. tax reform bill.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average added 348.55 points, or 1.55 percent, from Friday to close the day at 22,901.77.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, gained 24.43 points, or 1.36 percent, to finish at 1,817.90.

Brokers here said the market was buoyed on the first trading day of the week on the back of Wall Street's solid performance on Friday amid relief among investors that a tax reform bill will likely be passed in the U.S. this year.

On hopes the reforms will trigger growth in the United States, local market strategists said that exporter issues, among blue-chips, found particular favor Monday, along with financial stocks.

Once the tax bill is passed in the U.S., stocks here may come under selling pressure, however, market players noted, as investors may be inclined to secure gains and move on to new cues.

The majority of industry categories in the main section closed in positive territory, with insurance, bank and electric appliance-oriented issues comprising those that led gainers, and rising issues beat falling ones by 1,291 to 695, on the First section, with 68 ending the day unchanged.

On the main section on Monday, 1,613.63 million shares changed hands, dropping from Friday's volume of 1,844.21 million shares.

The turnover on the first trading day of the week totaled 2,693.4 billion yen (23.89 billion U.S. dollars). Enditem