Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index declined 0.14% to close at 40,270.31 on Thursday, as declines in transport, communications and paper & pulp shares weighed on broader sentiment.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by 1,789 to 1,656 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, with 290 stocks unchanged. The Nikkei Volatility Index, tracking implied volatility for Nikkei 225 options, held steady at 30.41, unchanged from the prior session.
Among individual movers, Kioxia Holdings led gainers with a 5.0% rise to 52,500 yen, followed by Furukawa Electric at 4,089 yen (+4.71%) and Shift Inc at 966.80 yen (+4.10%). On the downside, Advantest fell 3.05% to 34,610 yen, while Ebara Corp declined 2.78% to 4,821 yen and Yamaha Motor dropped 2.48% to 1,906.50 yen.
Commodities showed mixed performance, with October West Texas Intermediate crude futures down 1.7% at $80.83 per barrel and November Brent crude down 1.62% at $85.53 per barrel. December gold futures rose 0.11% to $4,658.26 per troy ounce.
The yen traded marginally weaker against the dollar, with the USD/JPY pair up 0.01% at 159.33. The EUR/JPY cross rose 0.03% to 185.71, while the U.S. Dollar Index futures slipped 0.01% to 99.08.
