Tokyo stocks open higher

Tokyo: Tokyo stocks opened sharply higher on Friday as market sentiment brightened after European Central Bank president Mario Draghi hinted at expanding its quantitative easing program in December. At 9.15 a.m. (local time), the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average soared 399.17 points, or 2.17 percent, from Thursday to 18,835.04, after briefly gaining more than 400 points, Xinhua reported. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange jumped 31.80 points, or 2.09 percent, to 1, 550.02.