TOKYO, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks closed higher Wednesday, with the benchmark Nikkei stock index hitting a more than 29-year closing high, as hopes for a coronavirus vaccine triggered broader optimism for a global economic recovery from the pandemic.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average gained 444.01 points, or 1.78 percent, from Tuesday to close the day at 25,349.60, marking its highest closing level since June 4, 1991.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, added 28.27 points, or 1.66 percent, to finish at 1,729.07.

Tokyo stocks continued to rally along with global equities as U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. and German partner BioNTech SE saying on Monday during their late-stage clinical study its developmental vaccine was more than 90 percent effective in preventing COVID-19 contributed to an ongoing risk-on mood, local brokers said.

They added that hopes for an effective vaccine were underpinned by broader optimism for the global economic recovery from the novel coronavirus pandemic.

"Investors shrugged off U.S. political uncertainty following the presidential election and were encouraged by developments related to vaccines," Norihiro Fujito, senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co., was quoted as saying.

By the close of play, real estate, mining and insurance-related issues comprised those that gained the most.

Energy-oriented issues advanced on hopes for an economic recovery, with exploration giant Inpex adding 3.9 percent, while Japan Petroleum Exploration ended the day 4.1 percent higher.

Regional banks got a boost after the Bank of Japan (BOJ) said a day earlier it will encourage regional lenders help pandemic-hit sectors and revitalize regional economies.

As such, Shimane Bank climbed 5.6 percent, while Chiba Bank added 3.6 percent. Fukushima Bank, meanwhile, gained 2.1 percent, while Tsukuba Bank ended the day 4.3 percent higher.

Internet service provider DeNA was a notable winner, surging 12 percent after it posted robust half-year earnings.

Issues that rose outpaced those that fell by 1,614 to 493 on the First Section, while 69 ended the day unchanged.

On the main section on Wednesday, 1,683.20 million shares changed hands, dropping from Tuesday's volume of 2,065.35 million shares.

The turnover on the third trading day of the week came to 3.484 trillion yen (33.031 billion U.S. dollars). Enditem

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