TOKYO: Tokyo stocks closed lower on Friday, extending sharp falls on Wall Street driven by lacklustre US retail sales data and fears of a global recession.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index dropped 1.87 percent, or 524.58 points, to end at 27,527.12, while the broader Topix index fell 1.20 percent, or 23.69 points, to 1,950.21.
With the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank “suggesting they have more work to tame inflation, hiking interest rates into a dimming macro environment will undoubtedly trigger a recession,” said Stephen Innes, managing partner of SPI Asset Management.
“Forget inflation; Asia traders are now worried about a global recession which could prove highly economically damaging through the contracting export channel,” he warned, also describing the fall in US retail sales as worrying.
The dollar fetched 137.32 yen in Asian trade, against 137.80 yen in New York late Thursday.
Chip-making equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron plunged 4.47 percent to 43,780 yen.
Sony Group lost 1.72 percent to 10,855 yen after a report said the company is considering building a component plant in southern Japan near a new Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) semiconductor factory.
SoftBank Group tanked 3.79 percent to 6,052 yen while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing dropped 3.51 percent to 81,600 yen.
Shipping companies were higher, with Kawasaki Kisen jumping 2.58 percent to 2,700 yen and Nippon Yusen rising 0.40 percent to 3,214 yen.
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