Investing.com – Japan stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Pharmaceutical Industry, Railway & Bus and Gas & Water sectors led shares higher.
At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.40% to hit a new 5-year high.
The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Kobe Steel, Ltd. (T:5406), which rose 6.65% or 55.0 points to trade at 881.5 at the close. Meanwhile, SUMCO Corp. (T:3436) added 4.83% or 92.0 points to end at 1995.0 and Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. (T:4063) was up 2.93% or 310.0 points to 10880.0 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Denki Kagaku Kogyo K.K. (T:4061), which fell 2.40% or 90.0 points to trade at 3655.0 at the close. Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding (T:7003) declined 1.91% or 28.0 points to end at 1441.0 and Ricoh Co., Ltd. (T:7752) was down 1.53% or 18.0 points to 1159.0.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 1829 to 1414 and 253 ended unchanged.
Shares in SUMCO Corp. (T:3436) rose to 52-week highs; up 4.83% or 92.0 to 1995.0. Shares in Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. (T:4063) rose to all time highs; up 2.93% or 310.0 to 10880.0.
The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was down 4.93% to 15.04.
Crude oil for November delivery was down 1.50% or 0.78 to $51.26 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in December fell 1.20% or 0.70 to hit $57.45 a barrel, while the December Gold Futures contract rose 0.26% or 3.31 to trade at $1286.31 a troy ounce.
USD/JPY was down 0.28% to 112.62, while EUR/JPY fell 0.24% to 132.80.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.03% at 93.33.