nni.nikkei.co.jp
Japan did not act well today. Chugs, Jay
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Wednesday, July 11, 2001
Earnings Jitters Keep Tokyo Stocks Down
TOKYO (Nikkei)--Tokyo stock prices fell sharply Wednesday, losing more than 2%. The growing reluctance of players to trade indicates that the Nikkei Stock Average may be headed toward the year-to-date low of 11,819.70 posted in March.
The stock index closed at 12,005.11, down 295.30 points from Tuesday.
The market was weighed down by growing concerns about corporate earnings after the U.S. Nasdaq composite index fell below 2,000 overnight.
High-tech blue-chip stocks in sectors including electrical machinery and communications incurred steep losses. Stocks in Sony Corp. and NEC Corp. traded around year-to-date lows. Some stocks dropped to around half of their highs for the year.
Buying was mainly limited to automobile and food stocks.
On the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, over 1,000 stocks, or more than 70% of the listed issues, fell into negative territory.
Bank stocks were also lower on concerns that earnings will be undercut by disposal of bad loans. Electric utility and gas stocks, thought by investors to be invulnerable to economic downturns, also came under selling pressure.
"Domestic institutional investors as well as foreign investors moved to sell. Some individual investors also dumped stocks to avoid further losses, as the market has been in a slump lately," a Daiwa Securities Co. analyst said.
(The Nihon Keizai Shimbun Wednesday evening edition)
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