TOKYO: Tokyo's stocks tumbled 3.06 percent in late afternoon trading on Friday as the dollar turned sharply lower against the yen, denting shares of major Japanese exporters.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 442.05 points at 14,120.88 about 30 minutes before the close of trading.
Friday's decline saw investors booking profits ahead of the weekend following lukewarm financial results from some major Japanese firms as corporate earnings seasons gets underway.
"Investors had expected brighter earnings results from the likes of Canon and Nissan Motor," said Tachibana Securities market advisor Kenichi Hirano.
"The disappointment is helping fuel the selloff, combined with the flagging dollar, which is just not able to hold above the 100-yen mark. Players see further stock gains as not worth the risk in a thinning market," he told Dow Jones Newswires.
The greenback tumbled to 98.75 yen in Tokyo forex trade on Friday compared with 99.24 yen in New York Thursday afternoon. The dollar was above the 100 yen mark on Wednesday.
The value of the yen tends to influence the Tokyo stock market as it has a direct impact on the profitability of key exporters such as Toyota and Sony.
Nissan slumped 1.25 percent to 1,098 yen after it said Thursday net profit rose 14 percent in April-June but warned that its performance was held back by poor demand in China and Europe.
Canon sagged 2.31 percent to 3,170 yen after lowering its full-year earnings forecast due to worse-than-expected economic conditions in China and slowing demand for its digital cameras.
Uniqlo clothing chain operator Fast Retailing was down 2.72 percent to 35,650 yen.
In New York on Thursday the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.71 percent to 3,605.19, lifted by the surprisingly good earnings report from Facebook. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.09 percent to 15,555.61.
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