Budget Resolution: Points and u.s

budget resolution: On Thursday, the key market gauge climbed 1.90 points. ; The Topix, including all first-section issues, ended up 4.67 points, or 0.28 percent, at 1,687.16, after falling 2.07 points the previous day, according to The Japan Times. Stocks got off to a firm start, helped by the brisk performance of U.S. equities on Thursday after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a 2018 budget resolution, making a step forward for an overhaul of the country's tax code, brokers said. The Nikkei 225 average gained 62.15 points, or 0.30 percent, to close at 20,690.71, hitting the highest closing level since Aug. 11, 2015, for the third straight day. The U.S. stock market's three major indexes the Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 index and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index all hit closing highs. Friday's firmness, after Thursday's stalemate, was led by the higher rates of gains in the U.S. stock indexes on Thursday than in preceding days and the weaker yen, although the overall Tokyo market condition has not changed, said Hideyuki Suzuki, head of the investment market research department at SBI Securities Co. Although lacking strength to gain further ground, Tokyo stocks stayed in positive territory throughout Friday, supported by the dollar's strengthening above 113 in the afternoon, brokers said. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.