Tokyo, Japan – In Friday’s trading session, Japan stocks saw an uptick, buoyed by gains in the Paper & Pulp, Banking, and Insurance sectors.
At the closing bell, the Nikkei 225 index advanced by 0.15%, marking a new milestone with a record high.
Among the top performers driving the Nikkei 225 upwards were Sharp Corp (TYO:6753), surging by 5.31% or 44.60 points to settle at 884.40 by session end. Suzuki Motor Corp. (TYO:7269) followed suit, climbing by 3.74% or 246.00 points, closing at 6,828.00. Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (TYO:7201) also contributed to the positive momentum, rising by 3.47% or 21.60 points to conclude trading at 643.20.
Conversely, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (TYO:4519) faced declines, dropping by 3.75% or 229.00 points to reach 5,871.00 at the session’s close. Advantest Corp. (TYO:6857) similarly experienced a downturn, sliding by 2.92% or 197.00 points to finish at 6,550.00. Komatsu Ltd. (TYO:6301) also dipped by 2.15% or 99.00 points, settling at 4,507.00.
Market breadth favored the advancing stocks, with 2110 issues gaining ground, compared to 1508 decliners, while 259 remained unchanged.
The Nikkei Volatility index, reflecting the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, dipped by 3.44% to reach 18.83, marking a new low for the past month.
In commodities trading, crude oil prices for May delivery experienced a slight decline, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude falling by 0.64% to $80.55 per barrel. Meanwhile, Brent crude for May delivery also dropped by 0.64% to $85.23 per barrel. April Gold Futures registered a decrease of 0.46%, settling at $2,174.70 per troy ounce.
Against the Japanese yen, the US dollar weakened slightly, with USD/JPY down by 0.12% to 151.43, while EUR/JPY declined by 0.37% to 164.05.
The US Dollar Index Futures, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of major currencies, edged up by 0.22% to reach 103.89.