Japan stocks lower at close of trade; Nikkei 225 down 1.77%

Investing.com – Japan stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Shipbuilding, Mining and Electrical/Machinery sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 fell 1.77%.

The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Nichirei Corp. (TYO:2871), which rose 6.15% or 203.00 points to trade at 3,502.00 at the close. Meanwhile, LY Corp (TYO:4689) added 4.43% or 19.20 points to end at 453.00 and Resona Holdings, Inc. (TYO:8308) was up 1.85% or 14.40 points to 794.50 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Mitsui Engineering&Shipbuilding (TYO:7003), which fell 8.42% or 50.00 points to trade at 544.00 at the close. Nippon Sheet Glass Co., Ltd. (TYO:5202) declined 5.59% or 34.00 points to end at 574.00 and Toppan Printing Co., Ltd. (TYO:7911) was down 5.26% or 211.00 points to 3,800.00.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 3012 to 703 and 162 ended unchanged.

Shares in LY Corp (TYO:4689) rose to 52-week highs; up 4.43% or 19.20 to 453.00.

The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was up 2.53% to 18.22.

Crude oil for January delivery was up 2.09% or 1.45 to $70.79 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in February rose 2.17% or 1.61 to hit $75.66 a barrel, while the February Gold Futures contract fell 0.01% or 0.30 to trade at $2,046.10 a troy ounce.

USD/JPY was down 0.06% to 144.04, while EUR/JPY fell 0.15% to 155.35.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.13% at 103.64.