Japan stocks lower at close of trade; Nikkei 225 down 0.78%

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

At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 declined 0.78%.

The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Keisei Electric Railway Co., Ltd. (TYO:9009), which rose 5.02% or 222.00 points to trade at 4,641.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Resonac Holdings Corp (TYO:4004) added 4.08% or 163.00 points to end at 4,155.00 and Kansai Electric Power Co Inc (TYO:9503) was up 3.89% or 71.50 points to 1,907.50 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp (TYO:4188), which fell 5.75% or 48.40 points to trade at 793.60 at the close. Mazda Motor Corp (TYO:7261) declined 5.51% or 55.10 points to end at 944.80 and Fanuc Corp. (TYO:6954) was down 4.91% or 205.00 points to 3,973.00.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 2839 to 792 and 225 ended unchanged.

Shares in Resonac Holdings Corp (TYO:4004) rose to 5-year highs; rising 4.08% or 163.00 to 4,155.00. Shares in Mazda Motor Corp (TYO:7261) fell to 52-week lows; down 5.51% or 55.10 to 944.80.

The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was down 11.80% to 20.85 a new 3-months low.

Crude oil for January delivery was up 0.16% or 0.11 to $68.88 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in February rose 0.15% or 0.11 to hit $72.43 a barrel, while the February Gold Futures contract rose 0.96% or 25.29 to trade at $2,671.59 a troy ounce.

USD/JPY was down 0.63% to 152.13, while EUR/JPY fell 0.64% to 159.54.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.20% at 106.75.