TOKYO: Tokyo stocks tumbled Thursday as a strong yen dented exporter shares, and after Wall Street fell on oil prices sinking to fresh seven-year lows.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange was down 1.32 percent, or 255.46 points, at 19,045.61, dropping for a third day.
The broader Topix index of all first-section shares lost 0.99 percent, or 15.33 points, to 1,540.25.
“Oil is still excessively low at this price and concerns that this will be the status quo is making investors avoid risk for now,” Mitsushige Akino, executive officer at Ichiyoshi Asset Management, told Bloomberg News.
“With the yen strengthening, exporters and manufacturers are likely to be at the centre of risk-off moves.”
A stronger yen weighs on the profitability of Japanese firms doing business abroad.
On Thursday morning, the dollar ticked up to 121.54 yen from 121.40 yen on Wednesday in New York, where it earlier touched its lowest level in more than a month. The greenback is well down from levels above 123 yen earlier this week.
Jittery investors have moved into the yen which is seen as a safe bet in times of turmoil and uncertainty.
It also got a boost after better-than-expected revised Japanese GDP figures this week tempered expectations for more stimulus by the Bank of Japan.
In other currency trading, the euro bought $1.1016 and 133.86 yen from $1.1026 and 133.86 yen in New York.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.43 percent, the S&P 500 was down 0.77 percent and the Nasdaq shed 1.48 percent.
