Japan stocks lower at close of trade; Nikkei 225 down 0.56%

Investing.com – Japan stocks were lower after the close on Thursday, as losses in the Chemical, Petroleum&Plastic, Mining and Retail sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.56%.

The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Nippon Yusen K.K (TYO:9101), which rose 8.01% or 350.00 points to trade at 4,721.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (TYO:9104) added 7.39% or 334.00 points to end at 4,851.00 and Mitsui Engineering&Shipbuilding (TYO:7003) was up 6.80% or 48.00 points to 754.00 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Tokyo Electron Ltd. (TYO:8035), which fell 4.93% or 1,245.00 points to trade at 24,010.00 at the close. SoftBank Group Corp. (TYO:9984) declined 3.77% or 237.00 points to end at 6,056.00 and Advantest Corp. (TYO:6857) was down 3.77% or 181.00 points to 4,616.00.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 2817 to 922 and 153 ended unchanged.

Shares in Nippon Yusen K.K (TYO:9101) rose to all time highs; rising 8.01% or 350.00 to 4,721.00. Shares in Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (TYO:9104) rose to 5-year highs; up 7.39% or 334.00 to 4,851.00. Shares in Mitsui Engineering&Shipbuilding (TYO:7003) rose to 3-years highs; gaining 6.80% or 48.00 to 754.00.

The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was up 2.11% to 17.46.

Crude oil for February delivery was up 0.98% or 0.71 to $73.41 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in March rose 0.75% or 0.59 to hit $78.84 a barrel, while the February Gold Futures contract rose 0.56% or 11.35 to trade at $2,054.15 a troy ounce.

USD/JPY was up 0.28% to 143.70, while EUR/JPY rose 0.38% to 157.09.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.05% at 102.14.