Tokyo stocks close higher despite weaker-than-expected growth data

Tokyo stocks closed slightly higher on Monday despite weaker-than-expected growth data. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 80.08 points, or 0.56 percent, from Friday's closing to 14,393.11. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange gained 8.23 points, or 0.70 percent, to 1,192. 05. Paper and pulp, utility and brokerage issues recorded major gains, while service, information and communication, and mining shares were the biggest losers. The Japanese government said in a preliminary report earlier Monday that the world's third largest economy grew by 1.0 percent in the last quarter of 2013 amid sluggish exports, falling short of market expectation for a 2.6 percent growth.