Investing.com – Japan equities were lower at the close on Wednesday, as losses in the Gas & Water, Warehousing and Insurance sectors propelled shares lower.
At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 declined 0.11% to hit a new 1-month low.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Sumitomo Osaka Cement Co., Ltd. (T:5232), which rose 4.75% or 20.0 points to trade at 441.0 at the close. Suzuki Motor Corp. (T:7269) added 3.52% or 98.5 points to end at 2895.0 and The Kansai Electric Power Co. (T:9503) was up 3.48% or 33.2 points to 988.0 in late trade.
Biggest losers included Tokuyama Corp. (T:4043), which lost 9.94% or 17.0 points to trade at 154.0 in late trade. Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. (T:4183) declined 6.03% or 21.0 points to end at 327.0 and Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp (T:4188) shed 4.76% or 26.1 points to 521.7.
Declining stocks outnumbered rising ones by 1063 to 712 and 131 ended unchanged on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was up 0.32% to 28.16.
In commodities trading, Crude oil for May delivery was up 2.37% or 0.85 to $36.74 a barrel. Meanwhile, Brent oil for delivery in June rose 1.45% or 0.55 to hit $38.42 a barrel, while the June Gold contract fell 0.11% or 1.30 to trade at $1228.30 a troy ounce.
USD/JPY was up 0.03% to 110.37, while EUR/JPY fell 0.21% to 125.34.
The US Dollar Index was up 0.19% at 94.79.