Japan stocks lower at close of trade; Nikkei 225 down 0.30%

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

At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.30%.

The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Konica Minolta, Inc. (TYO:4902), which rose 9.75% or 39.40 points to trade at 443.70 at the close. Meanwhile, Fujitsu Ltd. (TYO:6702) added 5.98% or 1,260.00 points to end at 22,340.00 and J.Front Retailing Co., Ltd. (TYO:3086) was up 5.85% or 80.00 points to 1,448.00 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Aozora Bank, Ltd. (TYO:8304), which fell 15.92% or 407.00 points to trade at 2,150.00 at the close. Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (TYO:7211) declined 5.21% or 24.60 points to end at 448.00 and Alps Electric Co., Ltd. (TYO:6770) was down 3.97% or 43.00 points to 1,041.00.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 2056 to 1579 and 252 ended unchanged.

Shares in Aozora Bank, Ltd. (TYO:8304) fell to 52-week lows; falling 15.92% or 407.00 to 2,150.00. Shares in Fujitsu Ltd. (TYO:6702) rose to 5-year highs; rising 5.98% or 1,260.00 to 22,340.00. Shares in Alps Electric Co., Ltd. (TYO:6770) fell to 52-week lows; down 3.97% or 43.00 to 1,041.00.

The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was up 0.64% to 18.96.

Crude oil for March delivery was up 0.34% or 0.25 to $74.07 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in April rose 0.38% or 0.30 to hit $79.00 a barrel, while the April Gold Futures contract rose 0.09% or 1.85 to trade at $2,072.95 a troy ounce.

USD/JPY was down 0.02% to 146.40, while EUR/JPY rose 0.04% to 159.27.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.03% at 102.85.