Japan stocks lower at close of trade; Nikkei 225 down 1.62%

Investing.com – Japan stocks were lower after the close on Thursday, as losses in the , and sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Tokyo, the lost 1.62%.

The best performers of the session on the were Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (TYO:), which rose 3.81% or 233.00 points to trade at 6,348.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (TYO:) added 2.47% or 111.00 points to end at 4,604.00 and Shiseido Co., Ltd. (TYO:) was up 2.36% or 96.00 points to 4,169.00 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Toppan Printing Co., Ltd. (TYO:), which fell 5.10% or 206.00 points to trade at 3,837.00 at the close. Mazda Motor Corp (TYO:) declined 4.10% or 65.50 points to end at 1,532.50 and Toyota Motor Corp (TYO:) was down 4.03% or 106.50 points to 2,537.50.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 2766 to 892 and 222 ended unchanged.

Shares in Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (TYO:) rose to all time highs; gaining 3.81% or 233.00 to 6,348.00. Shares in Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (TYO:) rose to 5-year highs; gaining 2.47% or 111.00 to 4,604.00.

The , which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was down 2.17% to 16.71.

Crude oil for February delivery was down 0.16% or 0.12 to $74.10 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in February fell 0.10% or 0.08 to hit $79.62 a barrel, while the February Gold Futures contract fell 0.00% or 0.10 to trade at $2,047.60 a troy ounce.

USD/JPY was down 0.31% to 143.11, while EUR/JPY fell 0.29% to 156.64.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.05% at 101.98.