Japan stocks higher at close of trade; Nikkei 225 up 1.59%

Investing.com – Japan stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Pharmaceutical Industry, Warehousing and Services sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 added 1.59%.

The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Casio Computer Co., Ltd. (TYO:6952), which rose 6.97% or 84.50 points to trade at 1,296.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Mitsui Engineering&Shipbuilding (TYO:7003) added 5.58% or 23.00 points to end at 435.00 and Kao Corp. (TYO:4452) was up 4.95% or 266.00 points to 5,638.00 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Fujikura Ltd. (TYO:5803), which fell 10.22% or 118.00 points to trade at 1,036.50 at the close. Kuraray Co., Ltd. (TYO:3405) declined 7.39% or 120.00 points to end at 1,503.00 and Recruit Holdings Co Ltd (TYO:6098) was down 5.02% or 250.00 points to 4,730.00.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 2468 to 1168 and 217 ended unchanged.

The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was up 0.45% to 20.03.

Crude oil for December delivery was up 0.33% or 0.25 to $75.58 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in January rose 0.38% or 0.30 to hit $79.84 a barrel, while the December Gold Futures contract fell 0.15% or 2.90 to trade at $1,954.90 a troy ounce.

USD/JPY was up 0.03% to 151.02, while EUR/JPY unchanged 0.00% to 161.68.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.03% at 105.42.