Investing.com – Japan equities were lower at the close on Wednesday, as losses in the Steel, Non-Metal Minerals and Insurance sectors propelled shares lower.
At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 declined 0.68%.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (T:9107), which rose 3.28% or 59.5 points to trade at 1875.0 at the close. Yamato Holdings Co., Ltd. (T:9064) added 2.23% or 74.0 points to end at 3387.0 and Kikkoman Corp. (T:2801) was up 2.20% or 110.0 points to 5100.0 in late trade.
Biggest losers included Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co. (T:5706), which lost 5.62% or 205.0 points to trade at 3445.0 in late trade. Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. (T:5801) declined 5.45% or 205.0 points to end at 3555.0 and Tokai Carbon Co., Ltd. (T:5301) shed 5.29% or 103.0 points to 1843.0.
Declining stocks outnumbered rising ones by 2522 to 884 and 189 ended unchanged on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was down 15.68% to 15.97.
In commodities trading, Crude oil for September delivery was down 0.76% or 0.51 to $66.53 a barrel. Meanwhile, Brent oil for delivery in October fell 0.52% or 0.38 to hit $72.08 a barrel, while the December Gold Futures contract fell 0.49% or 5.90 to trade at $1194.80 a troy ounce.
USD/JPY was up 0.12% to 111.29, while EUR/JPY fell 0.02% to 126.07.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.15% at 96.69.