Key Takeaways
- The Nikkei stock average plummeted over 2,000 points, marking one of the steepest declines since early February.
- The sharp downturn in the Tokyo stock market is largely attributed to growing concerns over the slowing US economy.
- Almost all sectors experienced losses during the market crash, including securities house, insurance, and bank issues.
Tokyo: Japan’s benchmark Nikkei stock index, The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average, saw a significant drop on Friday morning, plunging more than 2,000 points and falling below the 37,000 mark.
This represented one of the steepest declines since early February during intraday trading.
The sharp downturn in the Tokyo stock market is largely attributed to growing concerns over the slowing U.S. economy, market watcher here noted, as investor sentiment has been negatively impacted by recent economic data from the United States, which suggests a potential deceleration in economic growth.
In the first 15 minutes of trading, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average fell 1,715.67 points, or 4.50 percent, from Thursday to 36,410.66. The broader Topix index was down 118.87 points, or 4.40 percent, at 2,584.82.
The market crash in Tokyo was a broad-based decline, with almost all sectors experiencing losses. Securities house, insurance, and bank issues were among the major contributors to the plunge.
