Investing.com – Japan equities were lower at the close on Friday, as losses in the Power, Banking and Construction sectors propelled shares lower.
At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.39% to hit a new 3-month low.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were IHI Corp. (T:7013), which rose 3.78% or 11.0 points to trade at 302.0 at the close. Tokyo Electron Ltd. (T:8035) added 3.74% or 252.0 points to end at 6990.0 and Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd. (T:7735) was up 2.86% or 23.0 points to 828.0 in late trade.
Biggest losers included Pioneer Corp. (T:6773), which lost 4.55% or 14.0 points to trade at 294.0 in late trade. Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd. (T:3382) declined 3.22% or 171.0 points to end at 5141.0 and Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. (T:9502) shed 2.98% or 48.5 points to 1576.5.
Declining stocks outnumbered rising ones by 1471 to 417 and 1 ended unchanged on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was up 1.69% to 28.35 a new 1-month high.
In commodities trading, Crude oil for February delivery was up 2.19% or 0.73 to $34.00 a barrel. Meanwhile, Brent oil for delivery in February rose 2.43% or 0.82 to hit $34.54 a barrel, while the February Gold contract fell 0.51% or 5.60 to trade at $1102.20 a troy ounce.
USD/JPY was up 0.65% to 118.44, while EUR/JPY rose 0.04% to 128.66.
The US Dollar Index was up 0.53% at 98.82.