Investing.com – Japan stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Construction, Paper & Pulp and Services sectors led shares higher.
At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.23%.
The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Toshiba Corp. (T:6502), which rose 6.75% or 13.1 points to trade at 207.2 at the close. Meanwhile, Tokai Carbon Co., Ltd. (T:5301) added 4.20% or 20.0 points to end at 496.0 and Nippon Meat Packers, Inc. (T:2282) was up 3.39% or 105.0 points to 3205.0 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were DeNA Co Ltd (T:2432), which fell 5.45% or 138.0 points to trade at 2392.0 at the close. The Japan Steel Works, Ltd. (T:5631) declined 2.44% or 46.0 points to end at 1843.0 and Concordia Financial Group Ltd (T:7186) was down 1.90% or 10.3 points to 531.7.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 1634 to 1383 and 325 ended unchanged.
The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was up 19.63% to 18.65.
Crude oil for May delivery was up 0.50% or 0.24 to $48.28 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in May rose 0.45% or 0.23 to hit $50.87 a barrel, while the April Gold Futures contract fell 0.21% or 2.65 to trade at $1247.05 a troy ounce.
USD/JPY was up 0.01% to 111.17, while EUR/JPY fell 0.01% to 120.01.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.04% at 99.52.