Investing.com – Japan equities were higher at the close on Thursday, as gains in the Mining, Insurance and Chemical, Petroleum & Plastic sectors propelled shares higher.
At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 added 0.25% to hit a new 1-month high.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Pacific Metals Co., Ltd. (T:5541), which rose 12.06% or 465.00 points to trade at 4,320.00 at the close. Nisshinbo Holdings Inc. (T:3105) added 6.45% or 68.00 points to end at 1,122.00 and Japan Steel Works Ltd (T:5631) was up 3.72% or 135.00 points to 3,760.00 in late trade.
Biggest losers included Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (T:9107), which lost 9.61% or 810.00 points to trade at 7,620.00 in late trade. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (T:9104) declined 7.75% or 860.00 points to end at 10,240.00 and Nippon Yusen K.K (T:9101) shed 7.28% or 860.00 points to 10,950.00.
Advancing stocks outnumbered falling ones by 1950 to 1586 and 262 ended unchanged on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was down 3.52% to 24.40 a new 1-month low.
In commodities trading, Crude oil for May delivery was down 0.28% or 0.32 to $114.61 a barrel. Meanwhile, Brent oil for delivery in May rose 0.20% or 0.24 to hit $121.84 a barrel, while the April Gold Futures contract rose 0.30% or 5.90 to trade at $1,943.20 a troy ounce.
USD/JPY was up 0.46% to 121.71, while EUR/JPY rose 0.26% to 133.65.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.24% at 98.85.