Nikkei 225 closes down -0.08% at 22,764.94

Tokyo's main index closes the final trading day of the year lower, below the 23,000 mark

• Session high 22,881.21
• Session low 22,753.20

A lacklustre day in Japanese equities trading, as the Nikkei closes the year short of the 23,000 level.

On the year, the Nikkei posted a gain of 19.1% - measured against the 2016 close of 19,114.37. A solid year for Japanese stocks all in all.

Elsewhere, Australia's ASX 200 closed the day lower by 0.38% to 6,065.10. On the year, the index is up by 7.1%.

Meanwhile, the Hang Seng, Kospi, Shanghai Composite, and CSI 300 indices are all slightly higher on the day as well. Kospi in particular, is up by 1.26%.