Tokyo stocks close higher on U.S. shares' advance, gains capped by Catalonia election

TOKYO, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks closed slightly higher Friday on U.S. shares advancing overnight but gains were capped by investor caution following pro-independence parties in Catalonia winning a regional election in Spain.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average edged up 36.66 points, or 0.16 percent, from Thursday to close the day at 22,902.76, marking its highest close since Dec. 11.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, added 6.47 points, or 0.35 percent, to finish at 1,829.08.

Brokers here said that initial reports that parties supporting independence won a majority in the Catalonia election in Spain on Thursday prompted caution in early trade, with some investors hitting the sidelines to see how European bourses would react.

But, they said, the market was underpinned and rebounded in later trade owing to a solid performance by Wall Street overnight, with some investors seeking out bargains on the back of the passage of a U.S. tax reform bill.

Mining, nonferrous metal and marine transportation-linked issues comprised those that gained the most by the close of play, and rising issues beat falling ones by 1,124 to 844, on the First Section, with 96 ending the day unchanged.

On the main section on Friday, 1,489.22 million shares changed hands, rising from Thursday's volume of 1,451.82 million shares.

The turnover on the final trading day of the week totaled 2,403.8 billion yen (21.20 billion U.S. dollars). Enditem