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Nikkei drops below key 14,000 mark
Subprime fears bring lowest level since
2005
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20080116a1.html
The Nikkei stock index closed below the
14,000 line Tuesday for the first time since November 2005 on a strong yen,
tumbling Asian stocks and grim signals of greater fallout on Japanese companies
from the U.S. housing meltdown.
The 225-issue Nikkei average shed 138.16
points, or 0.98 percent, to end at 13,972.63, the lowest level since Nov. 2,
2005, when it closed at 13,894.78.
It also dipped below 13,973.03, the closing
level at the April 26, 2001, launch of Junichiro Koizumi's government, fueling
anxiety that reforms carried out by the charismatic leader have stalled under
current Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, brokers said.
The broader Topix index of all first
section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was down 27.38 points, or 1.99
percent, to 1,350.20, the lowest level since Sept. 16, 2005.
Stocks fell mostly across the board with
declines led by machinery, mining, oil and coal issues.
Brokers said the dollar's tumble to nearly
a two-month low in the upper ¥107 level weighed heavily on export-oriented
automakers, including Honda and Nissan.
Honda shed ¥150, or more than 4 percent, to
¥3,260, while Nissan shed ¥31, or nearly 3 percent, to ¥1,060.
"Tokyo stocks got embroiled in a
downward trend of Asian equity markets" during afternoon trading in China
and South Korea, said Tsuyoshi Segawa, equity strategist at Shinko Securities
Co.
Bank of Japan Gov. Toshihiko Fukui fueled
selling pressure by admitting in a speech in the morning that the impact from
the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis on domestic financial institutions has been
"growing beyond our initial expectations."
"Amid a jittery period ahead of U.S.
earnings reports, Fukui's comments were effective in freezing buying
momentum," said Yutaka Shiraki, senior equity strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ
Securities Co.
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The Japan Times: Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2008
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