Japan stocks higher at close of trade; Nikkei 225 up 0.67%

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

At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 added 0.67%.

The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Mercari Inc (TYO:4385 ), which rose 7.56% or 167.00 points to trade at 2,377.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co Ltd (TYO:4506 ) added 6.71% or 41.00 points to end at 652.00 and IHI Corp. (TYO:7013 ) was up 5.90% or 328.00 points to 5,891.00 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd. (TYO:7735 ), which fell 2.57% or 295.00 points to trade at 11,200.00 at the close. Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd. (TYO:5802 ) declined 2.27% or 54.00 points to end at 2,323.50 and Fukuoka Financial Group, Inc. (TYO:8354 ) was down 2.27% or 89.00 points to 3,824.00.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 2137 to 1463 and 272 ended unchanged.

Shares in Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co Ltd (TYO:4506 ) rose to 52-week highs; up 6.71% or 41.00 to 652.00.

The Nikkei Volatility , which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was down 6.47% to 27.61.

Crude oil for October delivery was down 0.29% or 0.21 to $71.72 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in October fell 0.11% or 0.08 to hit $75.97 a barrel, while the December Gold Futures contract fell 0.02% or 0.60 to trade at $2,546.90 a troy ounce.

USD/JPY was down 0.02% to 145.23, while EUR/JPY fell 0.03% to 161.90.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.13% at 101.04.

Source: Investing.com