BUSINESSMAN TAKES CLOSE LOOK AT STOCK PRICES IN TOKYO.
A Tokyo businessman takes a close look at stock prices flashing on an electronic quotation board outside a brokerage July 5. Shares gained solid ground to close at the highest level in more than 21 months, supported by improved business sentiment shown by the Bank of Japan's quarterly "tankan" survey and by a bullish trend in U.S. stocks, traders said. The benchmark Nikkei average finished trading 202.59 points or 1.13 percent higher at 18,135.06, the first close above the psychologically important 18,000 level since September 25, 1997.
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