Japan shares higher at close of trade; Nikkei 225 up 1.27%

Investing.com – Japan equities were higher at the close on Friday, as gains in the Shipbuilding , Automobiles & Parts and Gas & Water sectors propelled shares higher.

At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 gained 1.27% to hit a new 1-month high.

The biggest gainers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Pacific Metals Co., Ltd. (TYO: 5541 ), which rose 6.47% or 176.00 points to trade at 2,895.00 at the close. Fast Retailing Co., Ltd. (TYO: 9983 ) added 5.86% or 3,700.00 points to end at 66,850.00 and Z Holdings Corp (TYO: 4689 ) was up 5.09% or 21.50 points to 443.50 in late trade.

Biggest losers included Tosoh Corp. (TYO: 4042 ), which lost 3.28% or 62.00 points to trade at 1,829.00 in late trade. Toho Co., Ltd. (TYO: 9602 ) declined 2.30% or 120.00 points to end at 5,090.00 and Credit Saison Co., Ltd. (TYO: 8253 ) shed 2.25% or 35.00 points to 1,518.00.

Advancing stocks outnumbered falling ones by 1889 to 1607 and 260 ended unchanged on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

The Nikkei Volatility , which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was down 1.26% to 19.56 a new 1-month low.

In commodities trading, Crude oil for July delivery was down 0.67% or 0.78 to $116.09 a barrel. Meanwhile, Brent oil for delivery in August fell 0.57% or 0.67 to hit $116.94 a barrel, while the August Gold Futures contract fell 0.11% or 2.05 to trade at $1,869.35 a troy ounce.

USD/JPY was up 0.03% to 129.88, while EUR/JPY rose 0.10% to 139.63.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.09% at 101.74.