Tokyo Stocks Fall 519
Points
Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001
TOKYO (AP) - Tokyo stocks
broke the key 10,000-point
mark Wednesday morning
for the first time in 17 years
as traders dumped shares in
reaction to terrorist attacks
in New York City and
Washington. The dollar
was sharply lower against
the yen.
The benchmark 225-issue
Nikkei Stock Average fell
519.24 points, or 5.04
percent, to end the
morning session at
9,773.71, falling below the
10,000 mark first time
since August 1984.
On Tuesday, the index finished up 97.26 points, or 0.95 percent, to
10,292.95.
The dollar was trading at 119.36 yen Wednesday morning, down 2.26 yen
from late Tuesday in Tokyo and slightly below its late New York level of
119.38 yen Tuesday.
On the stock exchange, fears of financial market chaos and its impact on
the U.S. and Japanese economies following the terrorist attacks in the
United States sent Japanese stocks sharply lower.
The stock market opening was delayed by half an hour in response to the
attacks, the Tokyo Stock Exchange announced earlier.
The exchange also restricted price fluctuation range to half of the ordinary
amount as a precautionary step.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said the government will act
promptly to keep financial markets under control.
``Keeping close contact with other nations, we'll take proper steps in order
to stabilize the financial system,'' Fukuda said, urging investors to stay
calm. ``We would like to ask market participants to respond calmly'' to the
U.S. attacks.''
The broader Tokyo Stock Price Index of all issues listed on the first section
was down 51.89 points, or 4.90 percent, to 1,006.23. The TOPIX closed
up 2.14 points, or 0.20 percent, to 1,058.12, the day before.
In currency exchange, traders said that the dollar was top-heavy because of
concerns over the impact of the terrorist attacks on the U.S. economy.
The euro was traded at 108.50 yen, down from 108.60 yen late Monday in
Tokyo.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond rose to
1.4450 percent from Monday's finish of 1.4200 percent. Its price fell 0.22
point to 99.60.
--- |
