(Source: Jiji Press English News Service)
Tokyo, Oct. 7 (Jiji Press)--The key Nikkei average briefly tumbled below the psychologically important 10,000 line for the first time in nearly five years on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Tuesday, amid concern that the ongoing credit crunch may get out of control to batter the entire global economy.
The 225-issue Nikkei average, a 465.05-point loser Monday, ended down 317.19 points, or 3.0 pct, at 10,155.90, after slumping as much as 556.88 points to 9,916.21 earlier in the day.
The key index last traded below 10,000 on Dec. 11, 2003, when the market was in a long-term recovery after slumping to a 20-year closing low of 7,607 in April that year.
The TOPIX index of all first-section issues, which lost 48.92 points in the previous session, fell 21.44 points, or 2.1 pct, to close at 977.61.
Heavy selling swamped the Tokyo market after the deepening U.S. and European financial crises rattled stock markets around the world overnight.
The Dow Jones industrial average's fall below the key 10,000 mark, in particular, aroused a sense of helplessness among investors here, brokers said.
Market anxiety was compounded by the yen's spikes against the dollar and the euro, which are expected to take a toll on earnings of major Japanese export-oriented companies, they said.(MORE)Nikkei Briefly Dives below 10,000 amid Global Sell-Offs
In early afternoon trading, Australia's larger-than-expected full- percentage-point interest rate cut, as well as speculation about stock purchases by domestic pension funds, helped the Tokyo market recoup part of its loss.
But brokers said the market has a long way to go before regaining stability.
"Global economic and financial woes are far from over," said Yumi Nishimura, equity manager at Daiwa Securities SMBC Co., adding that more negative surprises could come from the European financial industry at any time.
Nishimura also said the upcoming political schedule, such as the Nov. 4 U.S. presidential election and a possible general election in Japan, leaves little room for bold policy actions in respective countries in the immediate future. "In the meantime, the Nikkei could sink as low as 9,500," she said.
Meanwhile, Masayuki Otani, chief market analyst at Securities Japan Inc., said that the market will be able to take a breather if quarterly earnings releases by major U.S. financial groups such as Citigroup and Merrill Lynch next week pass without giving major shocks to investors.
Losing issues outnumbered winners 1,356 to 315 on the TSE's first section, while 42 issues were flat.
Volume totaled 2,965 million shares against Monday's 2,566 million shares.(MORE)Nikkei Briefly Dives below 10,000 amid Global Sell-Offs
Automakers Toyota and Honda remained battered on the surging yen and gloomy global economic outlook.
An overnight slump in crude oil prices sparked heavy selling in Idemitsu Kosan and Inpex.
On the other hand, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial climbed to the positive side thanks to bargain hunting.
The pulp-paper sector was the best performer in the TSE's first section, with Oji Paper and Nippon Paper posting healthy gains, as the lower oil prices and stronger yen fueled hopes for cost savings.
In index futures trading, the key December contract on the Nikkei average closed down 240 points at 10,210 on the Osaka Securities Exchange.END
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