Japan stocks higher at close of trade; Nikkei 225 up 1.39%

Investing.com – Japan stocks were higher after 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 rose 1.39%.

The best performers 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. Meanwhile, 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.

The worst performers of the session were Rakuten Inc (TYO:4755), which fell 2.09% or 18.20 points to trade at 851.30 at the close. 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) was down 0.79% or 145.00 points to 18,295.00.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 2436 to 1226 and 237 ended unchanged.

Shares in J.Front Retailing Co., Ltd. (TYO:3086) rose to 5-year highs; rising 8.27% or 165.00 to 2,159.00. Shares in Eisai Co., Ltd. (TYO:4523) fell to 5-year lows; losing 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-months low.

Crude oil for February delivery was up 0.14% or 0.10 to $70.20 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in March rose 0.11% or 0.08 to hit $73.25 a barrel, while the February Gold Futures contract rose 0.21% or 5.64 to trade at $2,641.14 a troy ounce.

USD/JPY was down 0.02% to 157.38, while EUR/JPY fell 0.07% to 163.64.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.06% at 107.96.