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Tokyo stocks fall on bearish outlook for hi-techs, stronger yen weighs+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) TOKYO, Nov. 20_(Kyodo) _ (EDS: TO BE LED) Tokyo stocks fell sharply Friday morning, with the key Nikkei index hitting a fresh four-month intraday low under 9,500, as high-tech shares tracked their U.S. peers' losses overnight and Japanese exporters came under pressure from a stronger yen. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average lost 119.88 points, or 1.26 percent, to 9,429.59 from Thursday's four-month closing low. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was down 7.20 points, or 0.86 percent, to 830.51. The Topix index turned marginally positive at one point with support from buying in banking and other financial issues, which have been major drags recently amid equity financing worries, as some investors felt stocks have become oversold, brokers said. But overall losses gradually expanded late in the morning. Mining, and oil and coal product issues, hit by lower commodity prices, were among the major decliners, along with auto shares. The few gainers were led by the securities, textile and real estate sectors. A decline on Wall Street Thursday after investment assessment downgrades on major semiconductor makers, including Intel Corp., prompted investors to further test the Tokyo market's downside after the Nikkei fell below 9,500 for the first time since mid-July the previous day. "In addition to Merrill Lynch's bearish fiscal 2010 outlook for the semiconductor sector, figures released early this morning (Japan time) showed the book-to-bill ratio for U.S. semiconductor equipment orders in October fell significantly," said Tsuyoshi Segawa, an equity strategist at Mizuho Securities Co. "This was a double punch for high-tech shares." A weaker U.S. dollar, trading in the upper 88 yen zone in Tokyo morning deals after falling to a one-and-a-half month low overnight in New York, as well as declines in Shanghai and other key Asian markets, further soured the mood in Tokyo, brokers said. (c) 2009 Kyodo News International, Inc. |