Investing.com – Japan stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Insurance, Banking and Gas & Water sectors led shares higher.
At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.05% to hit a new 52-week high.
The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Pioneer Corp. (T:6773), which rose 3.88% or 8.0 points to trade at 214.0 at the close. Meanwhile, Softbank Corp. (T:9984) added 3.66% or 326.0 points to end at 9231.5 and Kajima Corp. (T:1812) was up 3.08% or 32.0 points to 1070.0 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Konami Corp. (T:9766), which fell 3.91% or 220.0 points to trade at 5410.0 at the close. Shiseido Co., Ltd. (T:4911) declined 3.64% or 167.0 points to end at 4423.0 and Trend Micro Inc. (T:4704) was down 3.21% or 180.0 points to 5430.0.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 1711 to 1476 and 299 ended unchanged.
Shares in Kajima Corp. (T:1812) rose to all time highs; gaining 3.08% or 32.0 to 1070.0.
The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was up 0.43% to 14.15.
Crude oil for November delivery was up 0.74% or 0.37 to $50.27 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in November rose 0.38% or 0.21 to hit $55.35 a barrel, while the December Gold Futures contract rose 0.48% or 6.24 to trade at $1316.84 a troy ounce.
USD/JPY was down 0.23% to 111.34, while EUR/JPY fell 0.10% to 133.71.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.20% at 91.44.