Japanese stocks weaken at close; Nikkei 225 down 1.42%
Japanese stocks weakened after the close of trading on Wednesday (August 20th), as weakness in the Paper & Pulp, Transportation, and Communications sectors led to declines.
At the close of trading in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 fell 1.42%.
The best-performing stocks on the Nikkei 225 were Pacific Metals Co., Ltd. (TYO:5541), which rose 4.89% or 91.00 points to trade at 1,953.00. Meanwhile, Oriental Land Co. Ltd. (TYO:4661) rose 4.47% or 157.00 points to close at 3,672.00, and Keisei Electric Railway Co., Ltd. (TYO:4661) rose 4.47% or 157.00 points to close at 3,672.00. (TYO:9009) rose 3.96%, or 52.50 points, to close at 1,379.50.
The worst-performing stock during the session was SoftBank Group Corp. (TYO:9984), which plunged 7.14%, or 1,145.00 points, to close at 14,890.00. Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co. (TYO:5706) plunged 6.25%, or 571.00 points, to close at 8,570.00, and Fujikura Ltd. (TYO:5803) plunged 5.66%, or 680.00 points, to close at 11,330.00.
Declining stocks outnumbered rising stocks on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2013, reaching 1,600, with 237 stocks ending unchanged.
Shares of Pacific Metals Co., Ltd. (TYO:5541) rose to a 52-week high, rising 4.89%, or 91.00, to 1,953.00.
Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, fell 2.54% to 24.22.
Crude oil for October delivery rose 0.89%, or 0.55, to $62.32 per barrel. In other commodity trading, Brent oil for October delivery rose 0.79%, or 0.52, to $66.31 per barrel, while December Gold Futures rose 0.21%, or 7.10, to $3,365.80 per troy ounce.
USD/JPY fell 0.20% to 147.38, while EUR/JPY fell 0.30% to 171.48.
The U.S. Dollar Index Futures rose 0.08% to 98.20. (alg)
Source: Investing.com
