Japan stocks higher at close of trade; Nikkei 225 up 0.57%

Investing.com – Japan stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Precision Instruments, Shipbuilding and Insurance sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 added 0.57%.

The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Komatsu Ltd. (TYO:6301), which rose 8.60% or 336.00 points to trade at 4,245.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Canon Inc (TYO:7751) added 7.85% or 297.00 points to end at 4,080.00 and Hitachi Construction Machinery Co (TYO:6305) was up 6.89% or 273.00 points to 4,234.00 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Alps Electric Co., Ltd. (TYO:6770), which fell 15.72% or 205.50 points to trade at 1,101.50 at the close. Tokuyama Corp. (TYO:4043) declined 3.65% or 90.00 points to end at 2,378.00 and Pacific Metals Co., Ltd. (TYO:5541) was down 2.98% or 44.00 points to 1,431.00.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 2369 to 1274 and 235 ended unchanged.

Shares in Alps Electric Co., Ltd. (TYO:6770) fell to 52-week lows; falling 15.72% or 205.50 to 1,101.50. Shares in Canon Inc (TYO:7751) rose to 5-year highs; gaining 7.85% or 297.00 to 4,080.00.

The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was up 0.87% to 19.81.

Crude oil for March delivery was down 0.33% or 0.26 to $77.56 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in April fell 0.34% or 0.28 to hit $82.22 a barrel, while the April Gold Futures contract rose 0.08% or 1.55 to trade at $2,052.45 a troy ounce.

USD/JPY was up 0.15% to 147.82, while EUR/JPY fell 0.11% to 159.91.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.22% at 103.45.