Japan stocks lower at close of trade; Nikkei 225 down 1.42%

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

At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 fell 1.42% to hit a new 1-month low.

The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Unitika, Ltd. (TYO:3103), which rose 0.95% or 2.00 points to trade at 213.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Ebara Corp. (TYO:6361) added 0.74% or 40.00 points to end at 5,480.00 and Secom Co., Ltd. (TYO:9735) was up 0.65% or 52.00 points to 8,053.00 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd. (TYO:3099), which fell 4.94% or 69.00 points to trade at 1,327.00 at the close. Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (TYO:9107) declined 4.30% or 140.00 points to end at 3,115.00 and J.Front Retailing Co., Ltd. (TYO:3086) was down 3.94% or 50.00 points to 1,218.00.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 3186 to 478 and 167 ended unchanged.

Shares in Unitika, Ltd. (TYO:3103) rose to 3-years lows; gaining 0.95% or 2.00 to 213.00.

The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was down 9.83% to 19.45.

Crude oil for May delivery was down 2.70% or 1.81 to $65.12 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in May fell 2.70% or 1.97 to hit $71.00 a barrel, while the April Gold Futures contract rose 1.96% or 38.65 to trade at $2,012.15 a troy ounce.

USD/JPY was down 0.66% to 130.93, while EUR/JPY fell 0.68% to 139.62.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.06% at 103.42.