Investing.com – Japan stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Gas & Water, Power and Chemical sectors led shares higher.
At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.61%.
The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Nichirei Corp. (T:2871), which rose 3.99% or 110.0 points to trade at 2864.0 at the close. Meanwhile, Familymart Ltd (T:8028) added 3.53% or 300.0 points to end at 8810.0 and Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd. (T:2502) was up 3.51% or 193.0 points to 5690.0 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (T:4502), which fell 7.45% or 412.0 points to trade at 5120.0 at the close. Panasonic Corp (T:6752) declined 4.10% or 64.3 points to end at 1503.0 and Rakuten Inc (T:4755) was down 2.58% or 23.1 points to 872.8.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 2219 to 1139 and 182 ended unchanged.
Shares in Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (T:4502) fell to 52-week lows; losing 7.45% or 412.0 to 5120.0. Shares in Familymart Ltd (T:8028) rose to all time highs; rising 3.53% or 300.0 to 8810.0.
The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was up 5.65% to 24.11.
Crude oil for May delivery was up 0.28% or 0.18 to $64.56 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in June fell 0.04% or 0.03 to hit $68.73 a barrel, while the April Gold Futures contract fell 0.02% or 0.20 to trade at $1324.00 a troy ounce.
USD/JPY was down 0.26% to 106.56, while EUR/JPY fell 0.27% to 131.13.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.01% at 89.75.