Tokyo’s Nikkei index sitting above 20,000 mark at the break

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A man looks at a stock quotation board flashing the key Nikkei index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in front of a securities company in Tokyo on June 2, 2017. Tokyo shares opened higher June 2 after a record close on Wall Street following a batch of mostly strong economic data that raised expectations for a looming US jobs report. / AFP PHOTO / Kazuhiro NOGI
A man looks at a stock quotation board flashing the key Nikkei index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in front of a securities company in Tokyo on June 2. / AFP /

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index ended above the 20,000 level on Friday morning, topping the psychologically important mark for the first time in a year and half after a record close on Wall Street.

The Nikkei jumped 1.41 percent, or 279.28 points, to 20,139.31 by the lunch break, the first time it crossed 20,000 since December 2015.

Tokyo’s broader Topix index of all first-section shares gained 1.25 percent, or 19.87 points, to sit at 1,606.01.

© Agence France-Presse