Investing.com – Japan equities were higher at the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Banking, Shipbuilding and Paper & Pulp sectors propelled shares higher.
At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 rose 1.10% to hit a new 6-month high.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Aozora Bank, Ltd. (T:8304), which rose 8.86% or 31.5 points to trade at 387.0 at the close. Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. (T:8411) added 6.25% or 11.7 points to end at 199.0 and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings (T:8309) was up 6.23% or 245.0 points to 4178.5 in late trade.
Biggest losers included Sumitomo Realty & Development Co. (T:8830), which lost 2.39% or 72.0 points to trade at 2946.0 in late trade. Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd. (T:8802) declined 1.74% or 38.5 points to end at 2168.0 and Mitsubishi Corp. (T:8058) shed 1.71% or 42.5 points to 2443.0.
Advancing stocks outnumbered falling ones by 2371 to 639 and 300 ended unchanged on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was down 1.91% to 20.58.
In commodities trading, Crude oil for December delivery was up 0.59% or 0.27 to $46.08 a barrel. Meanwhile, Brent oil for delivery in January rose 0.72% or 0.34 to hit $47.29 a barrel, while the December Gold contract rose 0.43% or 5.25 to trade at $1229.75 a troy ounce.
USD/JPY was down 0.04% to 109.15, while EUR/JPY rose 0.21% to 117.35.
The US Dollar Index was down 0.22% at 99.98.