Japan stocks higher at close of trade; Nikkei 225 up 0.26%

Investing.com – Japan stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Transport, Rubber and Paper & Pulp sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 added 0.26%.

The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Konica Minolta, Inc. (TYO:4902), which rose 5.23% or 27.90 points to trade at 561.20 at the close. Meanwhile, Nidec Corp (TYO:6594) added 5.00% or 142.00 points to end at 2,984.50 and Kanadevia Corp (TYO:7004) was up 3.54% or 35.00 points to 1,024.00 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Kansai Electric Power Co Inc (TYO:9503), which fell 3.30% or 85.00 points to trade at 2,492.00 at the close. Sumitomo Osaka Cement Co., Ltd. (TYO:5232) declined 2.27% or 87.00 points to end at 3,751.00 and Nikon Corp. (TYO:7731) was down 2.15% or 39.00 points to 1,776.00.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 2297 to 1255 and 298 ended unchanged.

Shares in Konica Minolta, Inc. (TYO:4902) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 5.23% or 27.90 to 561.20.

The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was up 3.73% to 27.22.

Crude oil for December delivery was up 1.12% or 0.79 to $71.56 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in December rose 0.99% or 0.74 to hit $75.70 a barrel, while the December Gold Futures contract rose 0.60% or 16.35 to trade at $2,745.75 a troy ounce.

USD/JPY was down 0.36% to 152.20, while EUR/JPY fell 0.30% to 164.19.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.08% at 104.19.