Japan stocks lower at close of trade; Nikkei 225 down 0.34%

Investing.com – Japan stocks were lower after the close on Wednesday, as losses in the Precision Instruments, Automobiles&Parts and Transportation Equipment sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 declined 0.34%.

The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Lasertec Corp (TYO:6920), which rose 14.88% or 5,150.00 points to trade at 39,690.00 at the close. Meanwhile, West Japan Railway Co. (TYO:9021) added 8.55% or 256.00 points to end at 3,248.00 and Sojitz Corp. (TYO:2768) was up 5.42% or 220.00 points to 4,265.00 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were JGC Corp. (TYO:1963), which fell 11.34% or 172.50 points to trade at 1,351.00 at the close. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (TYO:9104) declined 5.23% or 261.00 points to end at 4,731.00 and Nippon Electric Glass Co., Ltd. (TYO:5214) was down 4.68% or 183.00 points to 3,728.00.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 2222 to 1360 and 276 ended unchanged.

Shares in JGC Corp. (TYO:1963) fell to 52-week lows; losing 11.34% or 172.50 to 1,351.00. Shares in Sojitz Corp. (TYO:2768) rose to all time highs; gaining 5.42% or 220.00 to 4,265.00.

The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was down 2.98% to 20.82.

Crude oil for June delivery was down 1.03% or 0.84 to $81.09 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in July fell 0.93% or 0.80 to hit $85.53 a barrel, while the June Gold Futures contract fell 0.13% or 3.00 to trade at $2,299.90 a troy ounce.

USD/JPY was up 0.04% to 157.87, while EUR/JPY rose 0.03% to 168.27.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.18% at 106.29.