Tokyo stocks opened higher Wednesday, tracking overnight advances on Wall Street, but gains were limited ahead of the release of U.S. inflation data later in the day. In the first 15 minutes of trading, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 177.20 points, or 0.49 percent, from Tuesday to 36,409.71. The broader Topix index was up 18.71 points, or 0.73 percent, at 2,572.26. On the top-tier Prime Market, gainers were led by insurance, bank and transportation equipment issues. At 9 a.m., the U.S. dollar fetched 146.94-95 yen compared with 146.80-90 yen in New York and 147.83-85 yen in Tokyo at 5…