Japan's stocks fluctuate with Topix capping monthly gain

Japanese shares swung between gains and losses on Friday with the benchmark index Topix recording its first advanced in a month since the beginning of 2014 as power producers and tiremakers led gains. The Topix jumped as much as 0.1% to a level of 1,201.41 following an increase of 0.4% earlier on the session, while the Nikkei 225 closed 0.3% lower today.