Tokyo equities finished the session in positive territory on Wednesday, with the Nikkei 225 closing 0.54% higher. Gains were concentrated in the Real Estate, Banking and Textile sectors, which collectively helped lift the benchmark.
Among the top performers on the Nikkei 225, Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. (TYO:5801) led the advance, jumping 11.71% or 1,510.00 points to finish at 14,410.00. The share price for Furukawa Electric reached a five-year high at the close. Fujikura Ltd. (TYO:5803) also posted a strong session, adding 9.25% or 1,700.00 points to end at 20,070.00. Semiconductor supplier Renesas Electronics Corp (TYO:6723) gained 8.33% or 199.00 points to close at 2,589.00.
Conversely, several names weighed on the market. Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. (TYO:4063) fell 11.16% or 611.00 points to settle at 4,865.00, making it one of the day's weakest issues. Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc. (TYO:9501) declined 8.56% or 52.20 points to finish at 557.40, and Kyowa Kirin Co Ltd (TYO:4151) was down 4.49% or 117.00 points to 2,489.50.
Market breadth skewed heavily toward declines. On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, 2,932 issues fell versus 722 advancers, while 171 stocks closed unchanged.
Volatility measures and commodity markets showed modest movement. The Nikkei Volatility index, which reflects implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, eased 1.24% to 34.14.
In energy and precious metals trading, crude oil for March delivery rose 0.40% or 0.25 to $62.64 a barrel. Brent oil for April delivery increased 0.21% or 0.14 to $66.73 a barrel. The April Gold Futures contract advanced 3.52% or 180.16 to trade at $5,300.76 a troy ounce.
Currency moves included a 0.22% rise in USD/JPY to 152.58 and a 0.11% decline in EUR/JPY to 183.07. The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.17% at 95.89 by the close.
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