Stocks in Japan closed higher on Wednesday, as the Power, Food, Gas & Water sectors drove shares higher. The Nikkei 225 closed the day with a 0.27% gain.
Toshiba Corp. (T: 6502) was among the top performers, rising 7.67% to 249.9 at the closing bell. Sharp Corp (T: 6753) also gained 4.17% to reach 125.0, while Pioneer Corp. (T: 6773) soared 5.02% to 335.
Poor performers included Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co Ltd (T: 4506), which lost 4.22%, down to 1431.0. Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co. Ltd (T: 4151) slid 1.59% to 1915.0, while Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co. Ltd. (T: 7735) tumbled 2.5% to 898.0.
On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the number of rising stocks outnumbered the falling ones 1241 to 634.
Nikkei Volatility, a measure of implied volatility, jumped 1.51% to reach 19.47.
Meanwhile, crude oil for February delivery slipped 1.76% to $37.20 a barrel. Brent oil for February delivery lost 0.52% to trade at $37.41 per barrel. Gold contracts for February was up 0.15% to $1,069.60 a troy ounce.
The yen was weaker against the euro, with EUR/JPY is at 131.63, up 0.04%. The dollar slid, with USD/JPY falling 0.05% to 120.39. The dollar index inched up 0.01% to 98.24 on Wednesday.