Japanese Market Falls On Weak Lead From U.S., Stronger Yen

Japanese Market Falls On Weak Lead From U.S., Stronger Yen

(RTTNews) - Friday, Tokyo shares opened sharply lower, tracking the fall on Wall Street overnight. The appreciation of the yen and uncertainty about the government's fiscal policy also weighed on market sentiment.

At 10:11 a.m. local time, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 254.70 points at 15,141.60, while the broader Topix index for all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was down 29.21 points at 1,469.65.

In the U.S., department store operator J.C. Penney reported a 9% drop in fiscal third-quarter profit on weak sales and cut its fourth-quarter outlook. Additionally, Wells Fargo president and chief executive, John Stumpf, said that the U.S. housing market is seeing its steepest decline since the Great Depression.

The U.S. dollar traded at the mid 110-yen level in early trade in Tokyo. At 9:51 a.m. local time, the dollar was quoted at 110.50-110.52, down 0.89 yen from Thursday's 5:00 p.m. quotes of 111.39-111.41 yen.

In the oil space, Nippon Oil plunged 2.7%, Nippon Mining Holdings plummeted 2.3%, and Showa Shell Sekiyu KK lost 1.0%.

Among banks, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group fell 3.5%, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group gave away 2.9%, Mizuho Financial Group tumbled 4.0%, and Resona Holdings lost 3.0%.

Automaker Honda lost 1.3%, Toyota tumbled 1.6%, Nissan fell 2.01%, and Suzuki dropped 0.6%. Mazda advanced 0.4%.

Among high tech stocks, Kyocera slipped 0.6%, Fanuc lost 1.1%, Fujitsu fell 1.4%, Matsushita Electric Industrial gave away 1.1%, Sony slipped 1.1%, NEC plunged 2.3%, and Oki Electric Industry plummeted 3.1%. Advantest gained 1.0% and Tokyo Electron rose 1.2%.