Summary
Tokyo's stock market ended the day in negative territory, with sector-level declines in Paper & Pulp, Transport and Communication applying downward pressure on the Nikkei 225. Despite broad participation among winners, notable selloffs in several large-cap names left the index down 0.73% at the close.
Market close and breadth
At the Tokyo close, the Nikkei 225 recorded a 0.73% decline. On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, advancing issues outnumbered decliners by 2,370 to 1,195, while 254 stocks finished unchanged, indicating that gains were concentrated in particular names even as headline performance was negative.
Top movers
- Fukuoka Financial Group, Inc. (TYO:8354) was the session's strongest performer, climbing 10.27% - an increase of 622.00 points - to finish at 6,676.00. The share price reached an all-time high during the session.
- J.Front Retailing Co., Ltd. (TYO:3086) gained 8.86%, adding 213.50 points to close at 2,623.50, also reaching an all-time high.
- Panasonic Corp (TYO:6752) rose 8.41%, up 184.50 points, closing at 2,378.50; the stock attained a five-year high.
Largest decliners
- Daikin Industries, Ltd. (TYO:6367) fell 7.43%, a drop of 1,440.00 points, to end at 17,935.00.
- SoftBank Group Corp. (TYO:9984) declined 7.01%, losing 295.00 points to close at 3,912.00.
- NEC Corp. (TYO:6701) was down 6.88%, a decrease of 325.00 points, to finish at 4,397.00.
Volatility, commodities and currencies
The Nikkei Volatility index, which measures implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, ticked down 0.08% to 35.80, indicating a slight easing in options-implied uncertainty compared with the prior read.
In commodities, crude oil for March delivery dipped 1.90% - down $1.24 - to $63.90 a barrel. Brent oil for April delivery fell 1.91%, down $1.33, to $68.13 a barrel. April Gold Futures moved lower by 0.25% or $12.50, trading at $4,938.30 a troy ounce.
On currency markets, USD/JPY strengthened 0.20% to 157.01, while EUR/JPY rose 0.02% to 185.13. The US Dollar Index Futures was higher by 0.19% at 97.67.
Context and observation
Thursday's session presented a contrast between a handful of high-flying winners that reached multi-year or all-time highs and several heavyweight names that registered steep intraday losses. Sector weakness in Paper & Pulp, Transport and Communication coincided with the underperformance of several sizable industrial and technology stocks, contributing to the headline decline even as a significant number of issues advanced across the exchange.
Note: This report summarizes market moves, price changes and indicators as recorded at the close of trading in Tokyo.