Investing.com – Japan stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Transport, Chemical, Petroleum & Plastic and Pharmaceutical Industry sectors led shares higher.
At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 gained 1.40%.
The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co Ltd (T:4506), which rose 10.39% or 160.0 points to trade at 1700.0 at the close. Meanwhile, Kirin Holdings Co., Ltd. (T:2503) added 6.98% or 177.5 points to end at 2721.5 and SUMCO Corp. (T:3436) was up 5.87% or 159.0 points to 2869.0 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Eisai Co., Ltd. (T:4523), which fell 4.19% or 241.0 points to trade at 5514.0 at the close. Kubota Corp. (T:6326) declined 3.73% or 76.5 points to end at 1972.5 and MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings (T:8725) was down 3.30% or 114.0 points to 3342.0.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 2423 to 989 and 151 ended unchanged.
Shares in MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings (T:8725) fell to 52-week lows; losing 3.30% or 114.0 to 3342.0.
The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was down 11.05% to 30.02.
Crude oil for March delivery was up 1.27% or 0.77 to $61.37 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in April rose 0.92% or 0.59 to hit $64.95 a barrel, while the April Gold Futures contract fell 0.07% or 1.00 to trade at $1357.00 a troy ounce.
USD/JPY was down 0.69% to 106.26, while EUR/JPY fell 0.32% to 132.80.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.37% at 88.58.