TOKYO: Japanese stocks lost 1.32 percent by noon Thursday, tracking overnight falls on overseas markets amid worries over Europe's debt problem.
The Nikkei index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange was down 112.14 points to 8,406.99 by the lunch break. The Topix index of all first section shares fell 1.24 percent or 9.14 points to 727.84.
Market participants "are feeling uneasy about Italy", whose borrowing costs rose to a euro-era high at a bond auction Wednesday, said Yoshihiro Okumura, general manager at Chibagin Asset Management.
Italy paid its highest interest rate since the creation of the euro, raising 3.0 billion euros ($3.9 billion) in five-year bonds at a rate of 6.47 percent.
"The market is increasingly risk-averse," said Hideyuki Ishiguro, supervisor of investment strategy at Okasan Securities.
The Italian news brought down European and US stocks, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing off 131.46 points (1.10 percent) at 11,823.48.
The broader S&P 500 lost 13.91 points (1.13 percent) to 1,211.82, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 39.96 (1.55 percent) to 2,539.31.
The Tokyo market also was weighed down by the Bank of Japan's latest Tankan survey, which outlined the darkening corporate spirit on the eurozone crisis and a high yen.
Among major issues, Toyota fell 0.54 percent. Sony dropped 0.66 percent.
Scandal-tainted Olympus, which corrected its earnings reports after admitting having hidden massive investment losses, plunged 17.05 percent.
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