Tokyo stocks end higher with benchmark Nikkei hitting all-time high

TOKYO, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks ended higher on Thursday, with the benchmark Nikkei index closing at an all-time high, eclipsing the previous peak marked 34 years ago.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock index, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average, ended up 836.52 points, or 2.19 percent, from Wednesday at 39,098.68, breaking the previous record of 38,915.87 set in December 1989 at the height of the country's a