Topix Index: Market Gauge and Tokyo Stocks

topix index: On Wednesday, the key market gauge rose 51.02 points, according to The Japan Times. The Topix index of all first-section issues ended down 24.48 point, or 1.63, at 1,480.18, after gaining 0.12 point the previous day. The 225-issue Nikkei average tumbled 264.21 points, or 1.40 percent, to close at 18,597.06, its lowest finish since Dec. 7 last year. Tokyo stocks opened weaker and soon accelerated their downswing after U.S. equities gave up earlier gains to close lower on Wednesday, following the release of minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy-setting meeting in March. The Tokyo market was also weighed down by the yen's strengthening against the dollar, according to brokers. Investor sentiment was dampened as the Fed's minutes showed that some participants were concerned about recent gains in stock prices, describing them as quite high, brokers said. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.