Investing.com – Japan stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Chemical, Petroleum & Plastic, Mining and Railway & Bus sectors led shares higher.
At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 rose 1.23% to hit a new 6-months high.
The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Eisai Co., Ltd. (T:4523), which rose 9.66% or 606.0 points to trade at 6881.0 at the close. Meanwhile, Tokuyama Corp. (T:4043) added 7.32% or 32.0 points to end at 469.0 and SUMCO Corp. (T:3436) was up 5.93% or 90.0 points to 1607.0 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc. (T:9501), which fell 2.98% or 16.0 points to trade at 520.5 at the close. Pioneer Corp. (T:6773) declined 1.97% or 5.0 points to end at 249.0 and Sumitomo Osaka Cement Co., Ltd. (T:5232) was down 1.37% or 6.0 points to 432.0.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 1881 to 1128 and 337 ended unchanged.
Shares in SUMCO Corp. (T:3436) rose to 52-week highs; up 5.93% or 90.0 to 1607.0.
The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was up 2.47% to 18.65.
Crude oil for January delivery was up 0.69% or 0.35 to $51.19 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in February rose 0.35% or 0.19 to hit $54.08 a barrel, while the February Gold contract fell 0.07% or 0.85 to trade at $1171.55 a troy ounce.
USD/JPY was up 0.34% to 114.41, while EUR/JPY rose 0.34% to 121.44.
The US Dollar Index was up 0.05% at 101.16.