Japan stocks higher at close of trade; Nikkei 225 up 0.95%

Investing.com – Japan stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Pharmaceutical Industry, Power and Paper&Pulp sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.95%.

The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Eisai Co., Ltd. (TYO:4523), which rose 13.56% or 920.00 points to trade at 7,704.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Yamaha Corp. (TYO:7951) added 6.24% or 305.00 points to end at 5,190.00 and Rakuten Inc (TYO:4755) was up 6.09% or 37.00 points to 645.00 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Nippon Yusen K.K (TYO:9101), which fell 15.82% or 470.00 points to trade at 2,500.00 at the close. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (TYO:9104) declined 13.02% or 397.00 points to end at 2,653.00 and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (TYO:9107) was down 6.74% or 150.00 points to 2,077.00.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 2337 to 1238 and 176 ended unchanged.

Shares in Nippon Yusen K.K (TYO:9101) fell to 52-week lows; losing 15.82% or 470.00 to 2,500.00. Shares in Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (TYO:9107) fell to 52-week lows; losing 6.74% or 150.00 to 2,077.00.

The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was up 7.56% to 26.33 a new 3-months high.

Crude oil for November delivery was down 1.84% or 1.51 to $80.64 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in December fell 1.73% or 1.52 to hit $86.53 a barrel, while the December Gold Futures contract fell 1.19% or 19.95 to trade at $1,650.05 a troy ounce.

USD/JPY was up 0.36% to 144.68, while EUR/JPY fell 0.54% to 139.57.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.96% at 113.59.