Japan Equities Finish Lower; Nikkei 225 Down 0.19%

Japanese stocks finished Wednesday's session lower, with declines in the Paper & Pulp, Transport, and Communication sectors dragging the market down.

At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 shed 0.19%.

Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. (TYO:5801) was the Nikkei 225's best performer, surging 463.00 points, or 12.63%, to close at 4,129.00. Tokai Carbon Co., Ltd. (TYO:5301) advanced 168.00 points, or 9.27%, ending at 1,980.00, while Fujikura Ltd. (TYO:5803) gained 410.00 points, or 8.07%, to trade at 5,493.00 in late trade.

Kyowa Kirin Co Ltd (TYO:4151) was the session's worst performer, losing 139.00 points, or 5.88%, to close at 2,224.00. DeNA Co Ltd (TYO:2432) dropped 121.50 points, or 4.65%, to end at 2,489.00, and Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co Ltd (TYO:4506) fell 70.00 points, or 4.33%, to 1,545.00.

On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, declining stocks outnumbered advancers 2,084 to 1,372, with 272 issues closing unchanged.

Tokai Carbon Co., Ltd. (TYO:5301) shares reached a five-year high, rising 9.27% or 168.00 points to settle at 1,980.00.

The Nikkei Volatility, which tracks implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, climbed 46.61% to 32.05.

Crude oil for October delivery gained 1.28%, or $1.19, to reach $94.22 a barrel. In other commodities trading, Brent oil for November delivery rose 1.54%, or $1.51, to $99.43 a barrel, while December gold futures advanced 0.12%, or $5.51, to $4,444.51 per troy ounce.

USD/JPY fell 0.40% to 153.35, while EUR/JPY slipped 0.28% to 178.47.

The US Dollar Index Futures eased 0.11% to 98.68.