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Stocks Closing UPDATE1(Japan Economic Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) TOKYO, Sept. 20 -- (Kyodo) _ (EDS: ADDING DETAILS AND PRICES) Tokyo stocks fell sharply Tuesday, with export-linked shares under pressure over the weaker euro, as investor sentiment was dampened after the downgrade of Italy's sovereign debt by a U.S. rating agency, refueling concerns over economies in Europe. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended down 142.92 points, or 1.61 percent, from Friday to 8,721.24. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange finished 13.09 points, or 1.70 percent lower to 755.04. Japanese financial markets were closed Monday for a national holiday. Most of the 33 sectors on the TSE lost ground, led by the sea transport sector, followed by the insurance and mining sectors. The pulp and paper, foods and textiles sectors were the sole gainers. Export-linked shares were hit as the euro slid to the lower-104 yen range, within sight of the 10-year low level below the 104 yen line hit last week, brokers said. The single currency faced selling after credit rating agency Standard & Poor's downgraded the sovereign debt of Italy, the eurozone's third-largest economy, by one notch, heightening worries that the debt crisis in Greece is spreading to other countries, brokers said. The agency said the downgrade reflects its view of Italy's "weakening economic growth prospects" and that the country's "fragile governing coalition and policy differences within parliament" remain an obstacle to implementing fiscal austerity measures to tackle its debt problem. "Although the credit cut did not come as a surprise, it intensified eurozone sovereign debt woes, with the cut coming amid concerns that the debt crisis in Greece may spread to other countries," said Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities Co. Euro-sensitive issues also lost ground as the downgrade news came at a time when market sentiment had been dampened following the eurozone finance ministers' weekend meeting that failed to produce specific bailout measures for Greece, they said. "The finance ministers merely reaffirmed their commitment to help Greece. The meeting showed no progress," said Hiroichi Nishi, equity division manager at SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. Some investors also sold shares to lock in profits after the Nikkei gained over 4 percent during the past two trading days, Nishi said. Among exporters, Fanuc lost 260 yen, or 2.3 percent, to 11,130 yen and Toyota shed 49 yen, or 1.8 percent, to 2,685 yen. Euro-sensitive stocks that were hit included Canon, which lost 30 yen, or 0.9 percent, to 3,380 yen and Olympus, which shed 32 yen, or 1.4 percent, to 2,193 yen. Mitsubishi Heavy lost 12 yen, or 3.7 percent, to 317 yen after the major defense contractor said Monday its servers and computers have been infected with viruses which may have allowed unauthorized access from outside. IHI, another defense firm, also shed 8 yen, or 4.5 percent, to 170 yen after The Nikkei business daily reported the firm has been under attack from computer hackers. Suzuki gained 49 yen, or 3.0 percent, to 1,659 yen after a report Sunday that Germany's Volkswagen AG may make the Japanese automaker its subsidiary. On the First Section, declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones 1,398 to 188, with 78 others remaining unchanged. Trading volume on the main section fell to 1,416.21 million shares from Friday's 1,926.44 million. (c) 2011 Kyodo News International, Inc. |