Japanese stocks closed in the red on Thursday, with losses in the Power, Railway & Bus, and Marine Transport sectors dragging down share prices.
At the closing bell in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index recorded a loss of 2.22%.
Top Performers: Among the top performers on the Nikkei 225 were Kansai Electric Power Co Inc (TYO:9503), which saw a gain of 1.56%, or 30.50 points, closing at 1,979.50. Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. (TYO:9502) advanced by 1.43%, adding 25.50 points to reach 1,805.00, and Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc. (TYO:9501) registered an increase of 1.24%, or 7.80 points, closing at 638.50 in late trading.
Worst Performers: The session’s worst performers included Advantest Corp. (TYO:6857), which experienced a significant decline of 6.87%, equivalent to 294.00 points, closing at 3,984.00. Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd. (TYO:7735) declined by 5.61%, or 420.00 points, closing at 7,068.00, and Tokyo Electron Ltd. (TYO:8035) recorded a drop of 5.03%, shedding 1,025.00 points to end at 19,340.00.
Market Overview: Declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, with 2,890 stocks falling, 766 stocks rising, and 214 remaining unchanged.
The Nikkei Volatility, which gauges the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, experienced a decrease of 1.95% to 22.11.
In the commodities market, December delivery crude oil declined by 0.82%, or 0.70, to $84.69 per barrel. Meanwhile, Brent oil for December delivery decreased by 0.67%, or 0.60, to reach $89.53 per barrel. The December Gold Futures contract, on the other hand, saw an increase of 0.31%, rising by 6.25 points to reach $2,001.15 per troy ounce.
In currency trading, USD/JPY increased by 0.13% to 150.40, while EUR/JPY decreased by 0.08% to 158.63.
The US Dollar Index Futures recorded a gain of 0.20%, closing at 106.57.