TOKYO, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks opened lower Thursday as U.S. shares retreated overnight after the minutes from the Federal Reserve's January policy meeting showed that more interest rate hikes are likely this year.

In the first few minutes from the morning bell, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average dropped 224.21 points, or 1.02 percent, from Wednesday to 21,746.60.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, lost 15.37 points, or 0.87 percent, at 1,746.24.

Mining, iron and steel, and electric power and gas-linked issues led those that declined the most in the opening minutes of trading.