Japan stocks higher at close of trade; Nikkei 225 up 0.06%

Investing.com – Japan stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Banking, Insurance and Transportation Equipment sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.06%.

The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd. (TYO:3099), which rose 6.41% or 142.50 points to trade at 2,366.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. (TYO:7012) added 5.77% or 344.00 points to end at 6,302.00 and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (TYO:7011) was up 4.76% or 108.50 points to 2,388.00 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Resona Holdings, Inc. (TYO:8308), which fell 4.27% or 55.50 points to trade at 1,245.00 at the close. Okuma Corp. (TYO:6103) declined 4.25% or 140.00 points to end at 3,155.00 and T&D Holdings, Inc. (TYO:8795) was down 4.08% or 119.00 points to 2,799.00.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 2688 to 948 and 232 ended unchanged.

The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was down 16.09% to 18.72 a new 3-months low.

Crude oil for January delivery was up 0.33% or 0.23 to $70.17 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in February rose 0.37% or 0.27 to hit $73.89 a barrel, while the February Gold Futures contract rose 0.11% or 2.89 to trade at $2,670.79 a troy ounce.

USD/JPY was up 0.32% to 150.07, while EUR/JPY rose 0.46% to 157.92.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.09% at 106.25.