Tokyo stocks opened sharply higher Thursday, with the benchmark Nikkei index surging over 3 percent, as sentiment was supported by advances on Wall Street following an optimistic outlook for the U.S. economy presented by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. In the first 15 minutes of trading, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 827.52 points, or 3.21 percent, from Wednesday to 26,589.53. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was up 45.49 points, or 2.45 percent, to 1,898.74. Gainers were led by electric appliance, precision instrument, and machi…