Investing.com – Japan equities were higher at the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Transportation Equipment, Communication and Chemical, Petroleum & Plastic sectors propelled shares higher.
At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 rose 1.34% to hit a new 1-month high.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Inpex Corp. (T:1605), which rose 12.46% or 125.0 points to trade at 1128.5 at the close. Nikon Corp. (T:7731) added 6.20% or 102.0 points to end at 1747.0 and SUMCO Corp. (T:3436) was up 5.50% or 86.0 points to 1651.0 in late trade.
Biggest losers included Yamaha Motor Co Ltd (T:7272), which lost 5.11% or 120.0 points to trade at 2230.0 in late trade. Toho Zinc Co., Ltd. (T:5707) declined 2.87% or 95.0 points to end at 3210.0 and Isuzu Motors, Ltd. (T:7202) shed 2.86% or 46.0 points to 1563.5.
Advancing stocks outnumbered falling ones by 2246 to 1248 and 188 ended unchanged on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was down 9.14% to 18.00.
In commodities trading, Crude oil for March delivery was up 0.85% or 0.45 to $53.55 a barrel. Meanwhile, Brent oil for delivery in April rose 1.03% or 0.64 to hit $63.06 a barrel, while the April Gold Futures contract rose 0.13% or 1.75 to trade at $1315.75 a troy ounce.
USD/JPY was up 0.21% to 110.72, while EUR/JPY rose 0.22% to 125.39.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.05% at 96.553.