TOKYO: Japanese shares ended the morning session lower Wednesday after Wall Street posted its biggest slump of the year amid renewed concerns over Europe's debt crisis.
The Nikkei index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange dropped 0.97 percent or 92.92 points to 9,445.10 by noon. The Topix index of all first section shares lost 1.04 percent or 8.43 points to 805.00.
The mood was depressed following rises in European bond yields after Spanish yields soared to their highest level since December, rekindling worries about the possibility of a return to crisis in Europe.
The trend dragged down Wall Street, which fell for the fifth consecutive session. Worries about upcoming corporate earnings also weighed on sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 1.65 percent at 12,715.93, the broader S&P 500 dropped 1.71 percent to 1,358.59 and the tech-rich Nasdaq fell 1.83 percent to 2,991.22.
The continued rise of the yen was also dampening sentiment, analysts said.
The dollar slipped to 80.75 yen in Wednesday Tokyo trade, from 81.49 yen in New York Tuesday.
The euro was nearly flat at $1.3087 in Tokyo from $1.3084 in New York, but firmed to 105.68 yen from 105.49 yen.
"Investors are being cautious against risky assets like stocks, which accelerates the yen's strength," said Takashi Hiroki, chief strategist at Monex Inc.
The Nikkei index remained in a correctional phase after the strong rally over the January-March period, he told Dow Jones Newswires.
Sony plunged 5.04 percent to 1,506 in the morning after it said Tuesday evening that it expected its full-year loss to reach $6.4 billion, more than five times an earlier estimate.
Losses in such bellwether stocks combined with the yen's strength are likely to keep the Nikkei index around the 9,400 level, analysts said.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.