Japan stocks lower at close of trade; Nikkei 225 down 0.98%

Investing.com – Japan stocks were lower after the close on Wednesday, as losses in the Shipbuilding, Chemical, Petroleum&Plastic and Financial Services sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 declined 0.98%.

The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Itochu Corp. (TYO:8001), which rose 6.42% or 408.00 points to trade at 6,768.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. (TYO:9531) added 4.41% or 148.00 points to end at 3,505.00 and Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co Ltd (TYO:4506) was up 4.00% or 16.00 points to 416.00 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Shimizu Corp. (TYO:1803), which fell 9.16% or 88.20 points to trade at 874.30 at the close. Nintendo Co Ltd (TYO:7974) declined 4.28% or 349.00 points to end at 7,798.00 and Ebara Corp. (TYO:6361) was down 3.67% or 505.00 points to 13,255.00.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 1928 to 1693 and 257 ended unchanged.

Shares in Itochu Corp. (TYO:8001) rose to all time highs; up 6.42% or 408.00 to 6,768.00.

The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was up 5.82% to 19.65.

Crude oil for May delivery was down 0.02% or 0.02 to $85.13 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in June rose 0.07% or 0.06 to hit $88.98 a barrel, while the June Gold Futures contract rose 0.86% or 19.65 to trade at $2,301.45 a troy ounce.

USD/JPY was up 0.06% to 151.63, while EUR/JPY rose 0.06% to 163.31.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.03% at 104.54.