Investing.com – Japan equities were higher at the close on Friday, as gains in the Chemical, Petroleum & Plastic, Electrical/Machinery and Precision Instruments sectors propelled shares higher.
At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.91% to hit a new 5-year high.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd. (T:2502), which rose 4.82% or 274.0 points to trade at 5961.0 at the close. Kobe Steel, Ltd. (T:5406) added 4.66% or 50.0 points to end at 1123.5 and Casio Computer Co., Ltd. (T:6952) was up 3.95% or 65.0 points to 1710.0 in late trade.
Biggest losers included J.Front Retailing Co., Ltd. (T:3086), which lost 3.59% or 77.0 points to trade at 2069.0 in late trade. Takashimaya Co., Ltd. (T:8233) declined 3.39% or 41.0 points to end at 1169.0 and Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd. (T:3099) shed 2.54% or 36.0 points to 1382.0.
Advancing stocks outnumbered falling ones by 2226 to 1120 and 229 ended unchanged on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was down 3.18% to 15.52.
In commodities trading, Crude oil for February delivery was down 0.37% or 0.23 to $61.78 a barrel. Meanwhile, Brent oil for delivery in March fell 0.34% or 0.23 to hit $67.84 a barrel, while the February Gold Futures contract fell 0.14% or 1.80 to trade at $1319.80 a troy ounce.
USD/JPY was up 0.29% to 113.08, while EUR/JPY rose 0.26% to 136.43.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.08% at 91.67.