Japan stocks were lower after the close on Wednesday, as losses in the Shipbuilding, Paper & Pulp and Chemical, Petroleum & Plastic sectors led shares lower.
At the close of trading in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 closed down 0.78%.
The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Keisei Electric Railway Co., Ltd. (TYO:9009), which rose 5.02% or 222.00 points to trade at 4,641.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Resonac Holdings Corp. (TYO:4004) added 4.08% or 163.00 points to end at 4,155.00 and Kansai Electric Power Co. Inc. (TYO:9503) was up 3.89% or 71.50 points to 1,907.50 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp (TYO:4188), which fell 5.75% or 48.40 points to trade at 793.60 at the close. Mazda Motor Corp (TYO:7261) fell 5.51% or 55.10 points to end at 944.80 and Fanuc Corp. (TYO:6954) was down 4.91% or 205.00 points to 3,973.00.
Declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 2,839 to 792, while 225 ended unchanged.
Resonac Holdings Corp (TYO:4004) stock rose to a new all-time high, up 4.08% or 163.00 to 4,155.00. Mazda Motor Corp (TYO:7261) stock fell to a new 52-week low, falling 5.51% or 55.10 to 944.80.
The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was down 11.80% to 20.85, a new 3-month high.
WTI crude oil futures for January delivery rose 0.19% or 0.13 to $68.90 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for February delivery rose 0.14% or 0.10 to $72.42 a barrel, while the February gold contract rose 0.96% or 25.49 to $2,671.79 a troy ounce.
The USD/JPY pair lost 0.63% and traded at 152.13, while the EUR/JPY pair continued to decline by 0.64% and reached 159.54.
The dollar index futures were trading down 0.21% at 106.75.
