Tokyo stocks ends morning slightly higher on bullish overseas markets

Tokyo stocks gradually rose Wednesday morning, with the Nikkei Stock Average climbing 143.34 points, or 1.63%, to end the early session at 8,946.65. Overseas investors were willing to take risks overnight, prompting Tokyo investors to buy back cyclical issues, according to the (Nikkei.com) website. A rise in the stock market prompted investors to buy back stock index futures ahead of Friday, when the special quotation fixing for August stock index options will be calculated. Market players also bought back stock index futures, hoping the strike price will approach 9,000 yen, Advancers include Canon Inc. (7751), Toyota Motor Corp. (7203), Honda Motor Co. (7267), Fanuc Corp. (6954), Sony Corp. (6758) and Kansai Electric Power Co. (9503). Decliners include Softbank Corp. (9984), KDDI Corp. (9433), Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co. (7735), Daikin Industries Ltd. (6367) and Pioneer Corp. (6773). (QNA)