Investing.com – Japan stocks were lower after the close on Thursday, as losses in the Retail, Pharmaceutical Industry and Insurance sectors led shares lower.
At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 declined 0.85%.
The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Sharp Corp. (T:6753), which rose 16.79% or 23.0 points to trade at 160.0 at the close. Meanwhile, Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp (T:4188) added 7.00% or 42.9 points to end at 655.8 and Minebea Co., Ltd. (T:6479) was up 6.27% or 52.0 points to 881.0 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Panasonic Corp. (T:6752), which fell 8.71% or 92.3 points to trade at 967.2 at the close. Hitachi, Ltd. (T:6501) declined 7.81% or 43.4 points to end at 512.6 and Marui Group Co., Ltd. (T:8252) was down 6.03% or 113.0 points to 1760.0.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 1494 to 325 and 71 ended unchanged.
Shares in Panasonic Corp. (T:6752) fell to 52-week lows; down 8.71% or 92.3 to 967.2. Shares in Hitachi, Ltd. (T:6501) fell to 52-week lows; losing 7.81% or 43.4 to 512.6.
The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was up 2.12% to 33.67.
Crude oil for March delivery was up 1.97% or 0.64 to $32.91 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in April rose 1.76% or 0.61 to hit $35.66 a barrel, while the April Gold contract rose 0.18% or 2.00 to trade at $1143.30 a troy ounce.
USD/JPY was up 0.14% to 118.08, while EUR/JPY fell 0.10% to 130.78.
The US Dollar Index was up 0.19% at 97.44.