Japan stocks lower at close of trade; Nikkei 225 down 0.52%

Investing.com – Japan stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Shipbuilding, Precision Instruments and Retail sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 declined 0.52%.

The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Chiba Bank Ltd (TYO:8331), which rose 4.21% or 50.50 points to trade at 1,250.50 at the close. Meanwhile, Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. (TYO:5801) added 3.62% or 215.00 points to end at 6,155.00 and Dai-ichi Life Holdings Inc (TYO:8750) was up 3.53% or 138.00 points to 4,051.00 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (TYO:7201), which fell 4.01% or 15.00 points to trade at 358.90 at the close. SUMCO Corp. (TYO:3436) declined 3.30% or 41.00 points to end at 1,203.00 and DeNA Co Ltd (TYO:2432) was down 3.27% or 82.50 points to 2,437.50.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 1874 to 1695 and 286 ended unchanged.

Shares in Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (TYO:7201) fell to 3-years lows; losing 4.01% or 15.00 to 358.90. Shares in SUMCO Corp. (TYO:3436) fell to 3-years lows; losing 3.30% or 41.00 to 1,203.00.

The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was up 10.50% to 22.95.

Crude oil for January delivery was up 0.16% or 0.11 to $68.99 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in February fell 0.12% or 0.09 to hit $72.69 a barrel, while the February Gold Futures contract rose 0.97% or 25.91 to trade at $2,687.41 a troy ounce.

USD/JPY was down 1.06% to 149.94, while EUR/JPY fell 0.80% to 158.65.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.36% at 105.76.