Investing.com – Japan stocks were lower after the close on Thursday, as losses in the Precision Instruments, Automobiles & Parts and Glass sectors led shares lower.
At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 declined 0.68% to hit a new 3-months low.
The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Nissan Chemical Industries, Ltd. (T:4021), which rose 2.76% or 90.0 points to trade at 3345.0 at the close. Meanwhile, Shiseido Co., Ltd. (T:4911) added 2.23% or 63.5 points to end at 2910.0 and The Kansai Electric Power Co. (T:9503) was up 1.93% or 27.0 points to 1425.5 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Showa Denko K.K. (T:4004), which fell 4.91% or 89.0 points to trade at 1725.0 at the close. Toshiba Corp. (T:6502) declined 4.71% or 10.4 points to end at 210.2 and Aeon Co., Ltd. (T:8267) was down 4.41% or 73.5 points to 1591.5.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 2018 to 1061 and 274 ended unchanged.
Shares in The Kansai Electric Power Co. (T:9503) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 1.93% or 27.0 to 1425.5.
The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was up 5.66% to 22.39 a new 3-months high.
Crude oil for May delivery was down 0.09% or 0.05 to $53.06 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in June fell 0.05% or 0.03 to hit $55.83 a barrel, while the June Gold Futures contract rose 0.77% or 9.80 to trade at $1287.90 a troy ounce.
USD/JPY was down 0.01% to 109.02, while EUR/JPY fell 0.21% to 116.03.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.13% at 100.19.