The Japanese stock market closed lower on Wednesday, with the Nikkei 225 index down by 0.81%. The decline was led by losses in the Paper & Pulp, Fishery, and Chemical, Petroleum & Plastic sectors.
At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index fell by 0.81%. The session’s best performers included Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc (TYO:8306), rising by 5.25% or 69.00 points to reach 1,384.00 at the close. Resona Holdings, Inc. (TYO:8308) added 4.65% or 35.80 points, closing at 805.00, while Chiba Bank Ltd (TYO:8331) saw an increase of 4.57% or 48.00 points to end at 1,098.50 in late trade.
Conversely, the worst performers during the session were Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd. (TYO:8801), falling by 4.18% or 160.00 points to trade at 3,671.00 at the close. Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding (TYO:7003) declined by 4.04% or 31.00 points, closing at 737.00, and Mitsubishi Estate Co Ltd (TYO:8802) dropped by 3.84% or 82.00 points to reach 2,054.00.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, with 2073 declining, 1549 advancing, and 267 remaining unchanged.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc (TYO:8306) witnessed its shares rising to 5-year highs, gaining 5.25% to close at 1,384.00.
The Nikkei Volatility, measuring the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, increased by 5.95% to 21.90.
In commodities trading, crude oil for March delivery rose by 0.19% to $74.51 a barrel, while Brent oil for delivery in March increased by 0.16% to $79.68 a barrel. The February Gold Futures contract rose by 0.05% to trade at $2,026.85 a troy ounce.
The USD/JPY was down by 0.32% to 147.89, and the EUR/JPY fell by 0.22% to 160.68.
The US Dollar Index Futures decreased by 0.17% to 103.22.