Japan stocks higher at close of trade; Nikkei 225 up 0.40% By Investing.com

Investing.com – Japan stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the , and sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Tokyo, the gained 0.40%.

The best performers of the session on the were Nippon Sheet Glass Co., Ltd. (TYO:), which rose 7.59% or 45.00 points to trade at 638.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Rakuten Inc (TYO:) added 6.48% or 38.00 points to end at 624.00 and Tokyo Electron Ltd. (TYO:) was up 4.01% or 1,540.00 points to 39,950.00 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Fukuoka Financial Group, Inc. (TYO:), which fell 3.50% or 107.00 points to trade at 2,953.00 at the close. Resona Holdings, Inc. (TYO:) declined 3.32% or 24.70 points to end at 719.50 and Dai-ichi Life Holdings Inc (TYO:) was down 3.05% or 93.00 points to 2,959.00.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 2173 to 1401 and 259 ended unchanged.

Shares in Nippon Sheet Glass Co., Ltd. (TYO:) rose to 52-week highs; up 7.59% or 45.00 to 638.00.

The , which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was up 1.36% to 20.19.

Crude oil for February delivery was up 1.07% or 0.78 to $73.62 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in March rose 0.96% or 0.75 to hit $78.59 a barrel, while the February Gold Futures contract rose 0.03% or 0.50 to trade at $1,859.50 a troy ounce.

USD/JPY was down 0.14% to 132.43, while EUR/JPY fell 0.04% to 140.51.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.03% at 104.06.