Japan stocks higher at close of trade; Nikkei 225 up 0.07%

Investing.com – Japan stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Precision Instruments, Steel and Electrical/Machinery sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.07%.

The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. (TYO:7012), which rose 10.28% or 627.00 points to trade at 6,724.00 at the close. Meanwhile, IHI Corp. (TYO:7013) added 6.25% or 514.00 points to end at 8,739.00 and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (TYO:7011) was up 4.05% or 91.50 points to 2,348.00 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were TOTO Ltd. (TYO:5332), which fell 2.56% or 108.00 points to trade at 4,106.00 at the close. Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co Ltd (TYO:4506) declined 2.45% or 15.00 points to end at 597.00 and Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc. (TYO:9501) was down 1.95% or 9.90 points to 496.60.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 1830 to 1710 and 322 ended unchanged.

Shares in Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc. (TYO:9501) fell to 52-week lows; down 1.95% or 9.90 to 496.60.

The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was down 6.50% to 21.43.

Crude oil for January delivery was up 0.82% or 0.56 to $69.15 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in February rose 0.75% or 0.54 to hit $72.73 a barrel, while the February Gold Futures contract rose 0.48% or 13.01 to trade at $2,731.41 a troy ounce.

USD/JPY was down 0.13% to 151.76, while EUR/JPY fell 0.16% to 159.74.

The US Dollar Index Futures was unchanged 0.00% at 106.08.