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TOKYO, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo shares ended sharply higher with the benchmark Nikkei stocks index hitting a 15-year high Monday on optimism over the outlook of the Japanese economy.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average gained 194.14 points, or 0. 99 percent, from Friday at 19,754.36, its highest close since April 2000.
The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was up 11.74 points, or 0.74 percent, at 1, 592.25.
Gainers were led by pharmaceutical, mining and warehousing issues.
The turnover was about 2,411.2 billion yen (about 20.09 billion U.S. dollars.
