TOKYO, Aug 2 — Tokyo stocks closed dramatically lower today after Wall Street shares tumbled over concerns about the US economy and a stronger yen weighing on the market.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed down 5.81 per cent, or 2,216.63 points, at 35,909.70 — the second-biggest points drop in history, and the largest fall in per centage terms since March 2020 at the start of the pandemic.
The broader Topix index lost 6.14 per cent, or 166.09 points, to 2,537.60.
“The chain of stock market declines did not stop,” IwaiCosmo Securities said following US and European index falls.
Most Tokyo shares faced sell-offs from early trade today, having ended sharply lower the previous day, it added.
On Wall Street, all three major indices finished decisively lower as weak manufacturing data sparked worries about a US recession, with the tech-rich Nasdaq index falling the most at 2.3 per cent.
“Following falls in New York stocks, the BoJ’s additional rate hike, and the yen’s further appreciation, market sentiment is rapidly cooling,” Daiwa Securities said.
The yen has strengthened since the Bank of Japan’s rate hike decision earlier this week and US Federal Reserve comments hinting at a rate cut as soon as September.
The dollar fetched ¥149.24, down from ¥149.66 in New York and lower than rates of around ¥152 before the BoJ policy decision on Wednesday.
Among major shares, Tokyo Electron lost 11.98 per cent to ¥27,055 and SoftBank Group was down 8.03 per cent to ¥7,868. Toyota ended 4.22 per cent lower at ¥2,585. — AFP
