Investing.com – Japan stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Paper & Pulp, Trading and Electrical/Machinery sectors led shares higher.
At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.20%.
The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Rakuten Inc (T:4755), which rose 4.12% or 40.0 points to trade at 1011.0 at the close. Meanwhile, Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co. (T:5706) added 4.08% or 113.0 points to end at 2880.0 and Hitachi Construction Machinery Co (T:6305) was up 3.82% or 111.0 points to 3015.0 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Chiyoda Corp. (T:6366), which fell 3.70% or 11.0 points to trade at 286.0 at the close. Sony Corp (T:6758) declined 3.38% or 173.0 points to end at 4951.0 and Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding (T:7003) was down 2.62% or 32.0 points to 1188.0.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 2163 to 1343 and 234 ended unchanged.
Shares in Rakuten Inc (T:4755) rose to 52-week highs; up 4.12% or 40.0 to 1011.0.
The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was down 0.82% to 15.74 a new 6-months low.
Crude oil for May delivery was up 0.13% or 0.08 to $59.37 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in May rose 0.35% or 0.24 to hit $67.85 a barrel, while the April Gold Futures contract fell 0.31% or 4.05 to trade at $1302.45 a troy ounce.
USD/JPY was up 0.19% to 111.58, while EUR/JPY rose 0.16% to 126.59.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.13% at 95.958.