Investing.com – Japan equities were higher at the close on Thursday, as gains in the Steel, Transportation Equipment and Gas & Water sectors propelled shares higher.
At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 added 0.31% to hit a new 52-week high.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co. (T:5706), which rose 7.74% or 29.0 points to trade at 403.5 at the close. Yokogawa Electric Corp. (T:6841) added 6.87% or 124.0 points to end at 1928.0 and Kuraray Co., Ltd. (T:3405) was up 6.08% or 112.0 points to 1954.0 in late trade.
Biggest losers included Shinsei Bank, Ltd. (T:8303), which lost 8.51% or 18.0 points to trade at 193.5 in late trade. Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd. (T:3099) declined 8.46% or 98.0 points to end at 1060.0 and Sumitomo Osaka Cement Co., Ltd. (T:5232) shed 7.47% or 38.0 points to 471.0.
Advancing stocks outnumbered falling ones by 1526 to 1500 and 344 ended unchanged on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was down 2.90% to 14.38 a new 52-week low.
In commodities trading, Crude oil for June delivery was up 1.25% or 0.59 to $47.92 a barrel. Meanwhile, Brent oil for delivery in July rose 1.10% or 0.55 to hit $50.77 a barrel, while the June Gold Futures contract rose 0.24% or 2.94 to trade at $1221.84 a troy ounce.
USD/JPY was down 0.06% to 114.22, while EUR/JPY rose 0.05% to 124.27.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.05% at 99.45.