On Friday, Japan stocks were lower after the close due to losses in the Insurance, Pharmaceutical Industry, and Power sectors, leading shares lower. The Nikkei 225 declined 0.13% at the close in Tokyo. The worst performers of the session were Hitachi Zosen Corp., which fell 4.15%, DOWA Holdings Co., Ltd. declined 2.92%, and Terumo Corp. was down 2.79%. In contrast, the best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd., which rose 2.83%, Odakyu Electric Railway Co., Ltd. added 2.25%, and SUMCO Corp. was up 2.25% in late trade.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 1826 to 1679, and 321 ended unchanged. Shares in Terumo Corp. fell to 52-week lows, down 2.79% to 3,448.00. The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was down 10.18% to 20.48.
In commodities trading, crude oil for May delivery was up 0.44% or 0.31 to $70.27 a barrel. Brent oil for delivery in May rose 0.37% or 0.28 to hit $76.19 a barrel, while the April Gold Futures contract fell 0.30% or 5.90 to trade at $1,990.00 a troy ounce.
The currency market saw USD/JPY down 0.35% to 130.35, while EUR/JPY fell 0.36% to 141.16. Meanwhile, the US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.02% at 102.23.