Japan stocks lower at close of trade; Nikkei 225 down 0.22%

Investing.com – Japan stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Communication, Steel and Transportation Equipment sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.22%.

The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Sumitomo Realty & Development Co. (TYO:8830), which rose 5.49% or 249.00 points to trade at 4,781.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Mitsubishi Estate Co Ltd (TYO:8802) added 4.10% or 84.50 points to end at 2,145.50 and Tokyu Fudosan (TYO:3289) was up 4.06% or 36.50 points to 936.60 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Toppan Printing Co., Ltd. (TYO:7911), which fell 7.29% or 303.00 points to trade at 3,855.00 at the close. Resona Holdings, Inc. (TYO:8308) declined 5.02% or 58.50 points to end at 1,106.50 and Yamato Holdings Co., Ltd. (TYO:9064) was down 3.77% or 67.50 points to 1,723.50.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 2190 to 1439 and 257 ended unchanged.

The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was up 7.92% to 21.12.

Crude oil for January delivery was down 0.29% or 0.20 to $69.03 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in February fell 0.52% or 0.38 to hit $72.50 a barrel, while the February Gold Futures contract rose 0.46% or 12.01 to trade at $2,620.11 a troy ounce.

USD/JPY was down 0.31% to 156.95, while EUR/JPY fell 0.15% to 162.88.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.12% at 108.02.