Japan stocks closed higher on Thursday, with the Nikkei 225 index hitting a new 52-week high. Gains in the Communication, Paper & Pulp and Transport sectors led the index higher. Advantest Corp. and Sony Corp were the best performers of the session, rising 7.99% and 6.40% respectively. Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc. was the worst performer, falling 4.75%.
Crude oil for June delivery was down 0.45% while the June Gold Futures contract fell 0.25%. The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.15%. The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was up 3.13% to 17.78.
Overall, the Nikkei 225 gained 1.60%, closing at a new 52-week high.