Japan's equity market ended the trading day in the red on Friday, with losses concentrated in the Paper & Pulp, Transport and Communication sectors pushing the broader market lower.
At the Tokyo close, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.16% and was reported to have hit a new all time high.
Session movers
On the Nikkei 225, SUMCO Corp. (TYO:3436) was the biggest gainer, jumping 17.97% or 545.00 points to finish at 3,578.00. Socionext Inc (TYO:6526) added 7.49% or 153.50 points to close at 2,204.00, while Yaskawa Electric Corp. (TYO:6506) rose 6.60% or 394.00 points to end the session at 6,367.00.
On the downside, Yokogawa Electric Corp. (TYO:6841) led decliners, sliding 9.82% or 563.00 points to close at 5,171.00. Ibiden Co Ltd (TYO:4062) dropped 5.25% or 860.00 points to 15,515.00 and Daiwa Securities Group Inc. (TYO:8601) fell 4.84% or 73.50 points to finish at 1,445.00.
Market breadth and notable levels
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 1,807 to 1,728, while 251 issues finished unchanged. Two stocks reached milestone levels during the session: SUMCO Corp. (TYO:3436) climbed to 5-year highs at 3,578.00, and Yaskawa Electric Corp. (TYO:6506) moved up to 52-week highs at 6,367.00.
Volatility, commodities and currencies
The Nikkei Volatility index, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, declined 5.40% to 37.64.
In commodity markets, crude oil for June delivery increased 0.19% or 0.18 to $94.99 a barrel. Brent crude for July delivery gained 0.47% or 0.47 to $100.53 a barrel. The June Gold Futures contract rose 0.48% or 22.54 to trade at $4,733.44 a troy ounce.
Currency moves were modest: USD/JPY retreated 0.08% to 156.76, while EUR/JPY climbed 0.09% to 184.13. The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.04% at 97.99.
Analytical note
The session combined sector-specific weakness with significant individual stock moves. Large percentage changes in select names influenced the composition of winners and losers, while macro-sensitive instruments including oil, gold and major FX pairs recorded only modest shifts.
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