TOKYO, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks closed higher Monday, with the benchmark Nikkei stock index closing at its highest level in almost 27 years, as the mood was brightened by U.S. stocks' solid showing overnight coupled with the United States and Canada inking a trade deal.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average added 125.72 points, or 0.52 percent, from Friday to close the day at 24,245.76.
The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, gained 0.71 points, or 0.04 percent, to finish at 1,817.96.
Market strategists here said that the Nikkei index remained positive throughout trading hours, reaching its highest level at the close since November 1991.
They said that along with U.S. stocks performing strongly overnight, investor sentiment was particularly lifted by an agreement between the U.S. and Canada to forge a deal to rescue the the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
"The deal fanned expectations that there may be a way out to solve trade tensions between the United States and Japan as well," Shingo Ide, chief equity strategist at the NLI Research Institute, was quoted as saying, adding that investors were actively seen locking in recent gains thereafter.
By the close of play, mining, wholesale trade, and textile and apparel-linked issues comprised those that gained the most, and falling issues beat rising ones by 1,079 to 958 on the First Section, while 68 ended the day unchanged.
On the main section on Monday, 1,210.87 million shares changed hands, falling from Friday's volume of 1,557.26 million shares.
The turnover on the first trading day the week came to 2,441.1 billion yen (21.42 billion U.S. dollars).
