Tokyo stocks opened higher on Thursday tracking their US counterparts gains overnight and underpinned by the the Dow Jones Industrial Average s record closing high for a second successive day.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average added 98.63 points or 0.41 per cent from Wednesday to 24 209.59 Xinhua news agency reported.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange meanwhile gained 15.74 points or 0.87 percent at 1 818.47.

Insurance bank and oil and coal product-linked issues comprised those that gained the most in the opening minutes after the morning bell.

--IANS