Japan’s stocks ended the trading day on a negative note, with the Nikkei 225 declining by 0.23%. The losses were led by sectors such as Chemical, Petroleum & Plastic, Mining, and Retail.
Among the best performers on the Nikkei 225 were Rakuten Inc (TYO:4755), rising by 7.53%, CyberAgent Inc (TYO:4751) gaining 3.33%, and DIC Corp (TYO:4631) increasing by 2.88%. On the flip side, Idemitsu Kosan Co Ltd (TYO:5019) saw a decline of 2.33%, Pacific Metals Co., Ltd. (TYO:5541) dropped by 2.02%, and Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding (TYO:7003) was down by 1.81%.
No clear trend was observed between advancing and declining stocks on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
The Nikkei Volatility, measuring the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, increased by 2.11% to 17.46.
In commodities trading, Crude oil for February delivery rose by 1.81% to $72.95 a barrel, while Brent oil for March delivery increased by 2.02% to $78.60 a barrel. The February Gold Futures contract rose by 0.61% to $2,084.45 per troy ounce.
USD/JPY was up by 0.37% to 141.40, and EUR/JPY rose by 0.19% to 155.99. The US Dollar Index Futures increased by 0.11% to 101.14.
Overall, the Nikkei 225’s decline reflected a cautious market sentiment in Japan.