TOKYO, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo shares closed slightly higher in morning trade on strong U.S. stocks before the weekend due to solid U.S. retail sales data for September.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average gained 24.61 points, or 0.15 percent, from Friday to 16,880.98.
The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was up 1.05 points, or 0.08 percent, to 1,348.24.
Gainers were led by real estate, mining and nonferrous metal issues.
