Japan's Nikkei Down; Yen Rises Against Dollar

Japanese stocks were trading mostly lower on Monday. The Nikkei 225 dropped 0.22 percent, or 39.72 points to 18,341.50, and the TOPIX rose 0.25 percent, or 3.60 points to 1,468.13.

iShares MSCI Japan ETF EWJ shares fell 0.84 percent to close at $49.49, while iShares MSCI Pacific ex-Japan Idx (ETF) EPP gained 0.85 percent to close at $41.39 on Friday.

The U.S. dollar dropped 1.3 percent versus the Japanese yen to trade at 111.650, compared to 113.900 last week.

West Texas Intermediate for January delivery rose 0.09 percent to trade at $46.10 per barrel on the NYMEX, while Brent for January settlement gained 0.04 percent to $47.26 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange.

U.S. markets closed higher on Friday, with the Dow gaining 0.36 percent to 19,152.14, and the NASDAQ rising 0.34 percent to 5,398.92.

Top market movers among the Japanese market are as follows:

• Shares of Fujipream Corp (4237) climbed around 36 percent to 303.0 JPY.
• Crymson Co Ltd (2776) shares rose around 30 percent to 100.0 JPY.
• Japan Asia Investment Co Ltd (8518) shares increased over 20 percent to 604.0 JPY.

• T&C Medical Science Inc (3832) shares dropped around 10 percent to 89.0 JPY.
• Fuji Seiki Co Ltd (6400) declined over 10 percent to 137.0 JPY.
• T.O.Ogasawara Co Ltd (9812) shares fell 10 percent to 797.0 JPY.