Investing.com – Japan stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Retail, Gas & Water and Transport sectors led shares higher.
At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.57%.
The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were JFE Holdings, Inc. (T:5411), which rose 5.88% or 144.0 points to trade at 2595.0 at the close. Meanwhile, Yamaha Corp. (T:7951) added 5.16% or 200.0 points to end at 4075.0 and Kobe Steel, Ltd. (T:5406) was up 4.25% or 43.0 points to 1055.5 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Tokyo Electron Ltd. (T:8035), which fell 5.77% or 1285.0 points to trade at 20995.0 at the close. Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd. (T:7735) declined 5.03% or 540.0 points to end at 10185.0 and Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. (T:4063) was down 3.82% or 475.0 points to 11945.0.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 2214 to 1086 and 196 ended unchanged.
Shares in JFE Holdings, Inc. (T:5411) rose to 52-week highs; up 5.88% or 144.0 to 2595.0.
The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was up 0.96% to 17.89.
Crude oil for January delivery was down 0.38% or 0.22 to $57.77 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in February fell 0.44% or 0.28 to hit $62.96 a barrel, while the December Gold Futures contract rose 0.05% or 0.68 to trade at $1295.58 a troy ounce.
USD/JPY was up 0.02% to 111.50, while EUR/JPY rose 0.23% to 132.25.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.15% at 93.06.