Tokyo shares continue to gain ground on solid global stock markets

TOKYO, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo shares continued to rise Friday with market sentiment boosted by strong performance of global stock markets.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended up 208.20 points, or 0.89 percent, from Thursday at 23,714.53, its highest close since Jan. 6, 1992.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange finished 16.52 points, or 0.89 percent, higher at 1,880.34.

Gainers were led by iron and steel, nonferrous metal, and electric power and gas issues.

On the First Section, advancing issues outnumbered decliners 1,302 to 655 with 106 ending the day unchanged.

The day's turnover was around 3,014.0 billion yen (26.67 billion U.S. dollars).

On the main section, 1,681.44 million shares changed hands, falling from Thursday's 1,690.65 million shares. Enditem