Investing.com – Japan equities were higher at the close on Thursday, as gains in the Shipbuilding, Automobiles & Parts and Chemical, Petroleum & Plastic sectors led shares higher.
At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 gained 1.39%.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were J.Front Retailing Co., Ltd. (TYO:3086), which rose 8.27% or 165.00 points to trade at 2,159.00 at the close. Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd. (TYO:3099) added 7.60% or 191.50 points to end at 2,711.50 and Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (TYO:7201) was up 6.58% or 34.10 points to 552.40 in late trade.
Biggest losers included Rakuten Inc (TYO:4755), which fell 2.09% or 18.20 points to trade at 851.30 in late trade. Eisai Co., Ltd. (TYO:4523) declined 1.24% or 53.00 points to end at 4,224.00 and Nitori Holdings Co Ltd (TYO:9843) down 0.79% or 145.00 points to 18,295.00.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones by 2436 to 1226 and 237 ended unchanged on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Shares in J.Front Retailing Co., Ltd. (TYO:3086) rose to 5-year highs; gaining 8.27% or 165.00 to 2,159.00. Shares in Eisai Co., Ltd. (TYO:4523) fell to 5-year lows; falling 1.24% or 53.00 to 4,224.00.
The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was down 16.16% to 18.31 a new 3-month low.
Crude oil for February delivery was up 0.13% or 0.09 to $70.19 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in March rose 0.07% or 0.05 to hit $73.22 a barrel, while the February Gold Futures contract rose 0.21% or 5.66 to trade at $2,641.16 a troy ounce.
USD/JPY was down 0.02% to 157.37, while EUR/JPY fell 0.08% to 163.63.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.07% at 107.95.