TOKYO, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks closed sharply higher Tuesday, bringing an end to a four-day losing streak as the market mood was brightened by easing concerns about geopolitical tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average gained 216.21 points, or 1.11 percent, from Monday to close the day at 19,753.31.
The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, added 17.15 points, or 1.07 percent, to finish at 1,616.21.
Marine transportation, precision instrument and electric appliance-linked shares comprised those that gained the most by the close of play, and rising issues outpaced falling ones by 1,537 to 393 on the First Section.
Traders here said that a slight ease in tensions that were building between the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) led to investors picking up issues that were oversold when the market was risk averse due to rising tensions.
Other market players said that while regional concerns still remain, buying was supported by listed companies continuing to report positive earnings.
Some investors, however, opted not to make bold moves ahead of clues about rate hikes that may be provided at the U.S. Federal Reserve's annual economic policy symposium next week.
On the main section on Tuesday, 1,650.80 million shares changed hands, dropping from Monday's volume of 1,959.11 million shares.
The turnover on the second trading day of the week totaled 2,236.3 billion yen (20.27 billion U.S. dollars).
