Tokyo equities closed lower on Friday, with the Nikkei 225 ending the session down 1.07% as selling pressure in the Paper & Pulp, Transport and Communication sectors outweighed pockets of strength elsewhere.
At the close, the Nikkei 225 was off 1.07%.
Leading gains on the index included Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co. (TYO:5706), which climbed 5.44% - a rise of 1,615.00 points - to finish at 31,290.00. IHI Corp. (TYO:7013) added 5.18%, or 216.00 points, closing at 4,384.00, and Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd. (TYO:5802) rose 4.59%, a 428.00 point increase, to settle at 9,748.00.
Heaviest declines were recorded by Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co Ltd (TYO:4506), which plunged 15.60% or 457.50 points to close at 2,475.50. Olympus Corp. (TYO:7733) fell 4.39% (down 68.00 points) to 1,480.00, while Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd. (TYO:3382) slipped 4.26% or 97.50 points to end at 2,191.00.
Market breadth was skewed toward decliners: on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, 2,665 issues fell, 949 advanced and 215 finished unchanged.
Notable milestones during the session included new all-time highs for Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co. (TYO:5706), which gained 5.44% to 31,290.00, and for Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd. (TYO:5802), which rose 4.59% to 9,748.00. Conversely, shares of Olympus Corp. (TYO:7733) dropped to five-year lows, falling 4.39% to 1,480.00.
Volatility measures climbed: the Nikkei Volatility - which tracks implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options - increased 4.23% to 29.07.
Commodities and currency moves
In commodities trading, crude oil for April delivery rose 0.50% or 0.33 to $66.73 a barrel. Brent oil for April delivery also gained 0.50% or 0.36 to $72.02 a barrel. The April Gold Futures contract advanced 0.87% or 43.26 to trade at $5,040.66 a troy ounce.
On the currency front, USD/JPY was up 0.05% at 155.13 while EUR/JPY fell 0.05% to 182.40. The US Dollar Index Futures moved up 0.02% to 97.87.
What this session shows
Friday’s trading left the Nikkei lower on the day, with losses broad across the exchange and a modest rise in implied volatility. Select industrials and miners posted strong gains, including two names reaching all-time highs, while several consumer and healthcare-related names experienced pronounced weakness.