TOKYO: Tokyo stocks Thursday dropped 2.22 percent to a near five-month low due to high value of yen following sell-offs in New York and Europe amid fears about the global economy and the Ebola epidemic.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange dropped 335.14 points to finish at 14,738.38, the lowest close since late May, while the Topix index of all first-section shares slipped 2.30 percent, or 28.17 points, to 1,195.50.
Investors scrambled for safety after the US and European losses that followed US data showing a fall in retail sales as well as producer prices, which raised fears the world’s top economy is feeling the effects of weakness in the rest of the world. The figures also dampened expectations the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates from record lows any time soon which in turn sent the dollar lower against the yen, which is bad for Japanese exporters.
In New York the Dow fell 1.06 percent, the S&P 500 shed 0.81 percent and the Nasdaq eased 0.28 percent. Equity markets in Britain, France and Germany closed more than two percent lower.
On Thursday in Tokyo, the dollar bought 106.19 yen, against 105.91 yen in New York Wednesday afternoon, but it was sharply down from 107.33 yen in Tokyo earlier Wednesday. The greenback has fallen about three percent against the yen since breaking 110 yen at the start of October. The Nikkei has lost almost 9.0 percent since the start of the month.
