Japanese shares plummeted on Wednesday on the first day of the new fiscal year, as investors braced for a potential lockdown of Tokyo, a global recession, and sharp cuts in corporate earnings and dividend payouts due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The benchmark Nikkei average fell 4.5% to a one-week closing low of 18,065.41. However, overall trading was subdued, with the volume of shares traded on the main board valued at 2.72 trillion yen, its lowest level in a month.
The broader Topix lost 3.7% to 1,351.08, its lowest closing in a week, with all of the 33 sector sub-indexes on the Tokyo Stock Exchange finishing in negative territory. Airlines was the worst performing sector, down 6.7%, with ANA Holdings diving 8.3%.
Defensive shares that performed relatively well in recent weeks were among the worst performers, as investors took profits at the start of the new financial year.
Chemical and cosmetics firm Kao Corp dropped 6.3%, while mobile carrier NTT DoCoMo shed 6.6%.
Bucking the overall trend, web/TV conferencing services provider V-cube Inc surged 20.9% and e-learning company iStudy Co Ltd soared 28.9% to its daily-limit high.