Investing.com – Japan stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Machinery, Communication and Pharmaceutical Industry sectors led shares higher.
At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 rose 1.02%.
The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co Ltd (T:4506), which rose 18.30% or 502.0 points to trade at 3245.0 at the close. Meanwhile, Yaskawa Electric Corp. (T:6506) added 6.24% or 210.0 points to end at 3575.0 and Taiyo Yuden Co., Ltd. (T:6976) was up 5.54% or 113.0 points to 2154.0 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Familymart Ltd (T:8028), which fell 7.07% or 1270.0 points to trade at 16700.0 at the close. Olympus Corp. (T:7733) declined 3.26% or 110.0 points to end at 3260.0 and Suzuki Motor Corp. (T:7269) was down 2.94% or 160.0 points to 5278.0.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 2330 to 1161 and 201 ended unchanged.
Shares in Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co Ltd (T:4506) rose to 5-year highs; gaining 18.30% or 502.0 to 3245.0. Shares in Olympus Corp. (T:7733) fell to 52-week lows; down 3.26% or 110.0 to 3260.0.
The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was up 1.13% to 20.63.
Crude oil for January delivery was up 1.07% or 0.55 to $52.11 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in February rose 0.98% or 0.59 to hit $60.99 a barrel, while the February Gold Futures contract fell 0.05% or 0.60 to trade at $1219.30 a troy ounce.
USD/JPY was up 0.06% to 113.85, while EUR/JPY fell 0.06% to 128.36.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.14% at 97.417.