Japan stocks lower at close of trade; Nikkei 225 down 0.97%

Investing.com – Japan stocks were lower after the close on Thursday, as losses in the Insurance, Transportation Equipment and Power sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 lost 0.97%.

The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. (TYO:9531), which rose 4.94% or 213.00 points to trade at 4,528.00 at the close. Meanwhile, M3 Inc (TYO:2413) added 4.43% or 61.00 points to end at 1,437.50 and Taiheiyo Cement Corp. (TYO:5233) was up 3.81% or 131.00 points to 3,566.00 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were IHI Corp. (TYO:7013), which fell 3.94% or 358.00 points to trade at 8,721.00 at the close. Sumitomo Realty & Development Co. (TYO:8830) declined 3.44% or 161.00 points to end at 4,522.00 and East Japan Railway Co. (TYO:9020) was down 3.27% or 94.00 points to 2,779.00.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 1782 to 1746 and 337 ended unchanged.

Shares in Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. (TYO:9531) rose to 5-year highs; rising 4.94% or 213.00 to 4,528.00.

The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was down 5.63% to 24.65.

Crude oil for January delivery was up 0.73% or 0.50 to $69.25 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in January rose 0.67% or 0.49 to hit $73.30 a barrel, while the December Gold Futures contract rose 0.44% or 11.60 to trade at $2,663.30 a troy ounce.

USD/JPY was down 0.34% to 154.90, while EUR/JPY fell 0.35% to 163.33.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.08% at 106.53.