Japan shares higher at close of trade; Nikkei 225 up 0.31%

Investing.com – Japan equities were higher at the close on Thursday, as gains in the Steel , Transportation Equipment and Gas & Water sectors propelled shares higher.

At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 added 0.31% to hit a new 52-week high.

The biggest gainers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co. (T: 5706 ), which rose 7.74% or 29.0 points to trade at 403.5 at the close. Yokogawa Electric Corp. (T: 6841 ) added 6.87% or 124.0 points to end at 1928.0 and Kuraray Co., Ltd. (T: 3405 ) was up 6.08% or 112.0 points to 1954.0 in late trade.

Biggest losers included Shinsei Bank, Ltd. (T: 8303 ), which lost 8.51% or 18.0 points to trade at 193.5 in late trade. Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd. (T: 3099 ) declined 8.46% or 98.0 points to end at 1060.0 and Sumitomo Osaka Cement Co., Ltd. (T: 5232 ) shed 7.47% or 38.0 points to 471.0.

Advancing stocks outnumbered falling ones by 1526 to 1500 and 344 ended unchanged on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

The Nikkei Volatility , which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was down 2.90% to 14.38 a new 52-week low.

In commodities trading, Crude oil for June delivery was up 1.25% or 0.59 to $47.92 a barrel. Meanwhile, Brent oil for delivery in July rose 1.10% or 0.55 to hit $50.77 a barrel, while the June Gold Futures contract rose 0.24% or 2.94 to trade at $1221.84 a troy ounce.

USD/JPY was down 0.06% to 114.22, while EUR/JPY rose 0.05% to 124.27.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.05% at 99.45.