Japanese shares slide 1.09 percent by noon

TOKYO: Japanese shares fell 1.09 percent by noon on Thursday as investors turned their attention back to turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa after recent gains for the key index, dealers said. The Nikkei index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell 115.69 points to 10,473.81. The Topix index of all first section shares dropped 1.29 percent, or 12.18 points, to 932.11. Mounting tensions in Libya and declines in both US and European stocks overnight pressured the market, dealers said. The Nikkei, boosted in the past two days by corporate merger and acquisition activity, is correcting as investors focus on turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa, Hiroaki Osakabe, fund manager at Chibagin Asset Management, told Dow Jones Newswires. World markets have slipped in recent weeks due to worries that rising oil prices will smother global economic recovery. All Nippon Airways was down 0.69 percent at 285 yen. Toyota Motor was off 2.01 percent at 3,640, a day after announcing a strategy to boost emerging market sales to 50 percent of its total by 2015. It said it aimed to boost its operating profit margin to five percent "as soon as possible," but this was still half the level achieved before the financial crisis. However, the market was again buzzing with further merger and acquisition news after Japan's two major stock exchanges in Tokyo and Osaka were reported to be considering a merger. The Tokyo Stock Exchange is the biggest stock exchange in Japan, while the Osaka exchange serves as the nation's largest market for derivatives trading. Last month, NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Boerse AG said they were in advanced talks for a merger that would create the world's biggest exchange by revenues and a powerhouse in derivatives trading. The London Stock Exchange (LSE) and TMX Group, which runs markets in Toronto and Montreal, have also announced a merger, and a cluster of other deals are rumoured. Asahi Breweries fell 1.13 percent to 1,565 yen amid opposition by Australia's consumer regulator for its proposed purchase of P&N Beverages Australia Pty.