Japan stocks higher at close of trade; Nikkei 225 up 0.50%

Investing.com – Japan stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Banking, Precision Instruments and Automobiles&Parts sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.50%.

The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Panasonic Corp (TYO:6752), which rose 4.75% or 75.50 points to trade at 1,664.50 at the close. Meanwhile, Kansai Electric Power Co Inc (TYO:9503) added 4.02% or 76.00 points to end at 1,967.50 and Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co Ltd (TYO:4506) was up 3.80% or 18.90 points to 516.10 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Nippon Sheet Glass Co., Ltd. (TYO:5202), which fell 5.65% or 43.00 points to trade at 718.00 at the close. Nisshinbo Holdings Inc. (TYO:3105) declined 1.39% or 15.00 points to end at 1,067.00 and Nissan Chemical Industries, Ltd. (TYO:4021) was down 1.12% or 69.00 points to 6,086.00.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 2653 to 928 and 264 ended unchanged.

Shares in Kansai Electric Power Co Inc (TYO:9503) rose to 5-year highs; gaining 4.02% or 76.00 to 1,967.50.

The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was down 5.42% to 18.86.

Crude oil for October delivery was down 0.69% or 0.55 to $79.09 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in October fell 0.69% or 0.58 to hit $83.45 a barrel, while the December Gold Futures contract rose 0.37% or 7.05 to trade at $1,933.05 a troy ounce.

USD/JPY was down 0.36% to 145.36, while EUR/JPY fell 0.58% to 157.32.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.13% at 103.61.