Investing.com – Japan equities were higher at the close on Thursday, as gains in the Non-Metal Minerals, Retail and Transportation Equipment sectors propelled shares higher.
At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.49% to hit a new 3-month high.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Pioneer Corp. (T:6773), which rose 6.34% or 23.0 points to trade at 386.0 at the close. JGC Corp. (T:1963) added 4.72% or 96.0 points to end at 2129.0 and Sony Financial Holdings Inc. (T:8729) was up 3.67% or 81.0 points to 2286.0 in late trade.
Biggest losers included Minebea Co., Ltd. (T:6479), which lost 7.54% or 108.0 points to trade at 1324.0 in late trade. Sharp Corp. (T:6753) declined 6.67% or 10.0 points to end at 140.0 and SUMCO Corp. (T:3436) shed 6.03% or 83.0 points to 1294.0.
Advancing stocks outnumbered falling ones by 1117 to 756 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was down 1.69% to 20.38.
In commodities trading, Crude oil for January delivery was up 0.17% or 0.07 to $43.12 a barrel. Meanwhile, Brent oil for delivery in January fell 0.39% or 0.18 to hit $46.09 a barrel, while the December Gold contract rose 0.21% or 2.30 to trade at $1072.30 a troy ounce.
USD/JPY was down 0.12% to 122.61, while EUR/JPY fell 0.15% to 130.19.
The US Dollar Index was up 0.00% at 99.83.