Investing.com – Japan stocks were lower after the close on Thursday, as losses in the Retail, Communication and Gas & Water sectors led shares lower.
At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 declined 0.19%.
The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Tokuyama Corp. (T:4043), which rose 7.98% or 40.0 points to trade at 541.0 at the close. Meanwhile, Showa Denko K.K. (T:4004) added 4.40% or 91.0 points to end at 2160.0 and Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. (T:5801) was up 4.16% or 180.0 points to 4510.0 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Yahoo Japan Corp. (T:4689), which fell 9.79% or 51.5 points to trade at 474.5 at the close. Rakuten Inc (T:4755) declined 4.41% or 52.5 points to end at 1139.0 and Osaka Gas Co., Ltd. (T:9532) was down 4.13% or 17.9 points to 416.0.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 1943 to 1099 and 308 ended unchanged.
Shares in Showa Denko K.K. (T:4004) rose to 5-year highs; gaining 4.40% or 91.0 to 2160.0. Shares in Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. (T:5801) rose to 5-year highs; gaining 4.16% or 180.0 to 4510.0.
The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was down 3.40% to 15.04 a new 1-month low.
Crude oil for June delivery was down 1.01% or 0.50 to $49.12 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in July fell 1.01% or 0.53 to hit $51.88 a barrel, while the June Gold Futures contract rose 0.11% or 1.43 to trade at $1265.63 a troy ounce.
USD/JPY was up 0.30% to 111.38, while EUR/JPY rose 0.43% to 121.61.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.10% at 98.75.