TOKYO, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo shares continued to gain ground Friday morning with market sentiment boosted by solid stock markets across the globe.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 41.45 points, or 0.18 percent, from Thursday to 23,547.78.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was up 8.21 points, or 0.44 percent, at 1,872.03.

Gainers were led by iron and steel, transportation equipment and bank issues.