Japan stocks lower at close of trade; Nikkei 225 down 2.40%

Japan stocks were lower after the close on Thursday, as losses in the Paper & Pulp, Transport and Communication sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 fell 2.40% to hit a new 1-month low.

The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Trend Micro Inc. (TYO:4704), which rose 8.69% or 585.00 points to trade at 7,314.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Shift Inc (TYO:3697) added 8.57% or 90.50 points to end at 1,147.00 and BayCurrent Inc (TYO:6532) was up 3.76% or 415.00 points to 11,440.00 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Resonac Holdings Corp (TYO:4004), which fell 11.16% or 1,630.00 points to trade at 12,975.00 at the close. Ibiden Co Ltd (TYO:4062) declined 9.49% or 902.00 points to end at 8,598.00 and Screen Holdings Co Ltd (TYO:7735) was down 8.83% or 1,140.00 points to 11,770.00.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 2092 to 1404 and 228 ended unchanged.

Shares in BayCurrent Inc (TYO:6532) rose to 5-year highs; up 3.76% or 415.00 to 11,440.00.

The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was down 4.13% to 30.85.

Crude oil for December delivery was up 2.22% or 2.16 to $99.31 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in December rose 2.34% or 2.55 to hit $111.37 a barrel, while the December Gold Futures contract fell 1.01% or 42.10 to trade at $4,107.90 a troy ounce.

USD/JPY was down 0.67% to 157.06, while EUR/JPY fell 0.52% to 176.61.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.27% at 101.33.