Was a real sashimi year ,,
Tokyo Stocks Finish Lower for Year
.c The Associated Press
TOKYO (AP) -- They wrapped up the year's trading with a ceremonial round of applause, but traders had little to clap about today at the end of a gloomy 12 months on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Stock prices fell in the last trading session of 1998, with the benchmark 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average down 4.73 points, or 0.03 percent, to finish at 13,842.17 points.
The average closed 1,416.57 points lower than last year's finish of 15,258.74, a fitting end to a year in which the Japanese economy sunk to new lows, unable to free itself from the worst recession in decades.
On the foreign exchange market, the dollar was lower against the yen.
The dollar bought 115.20 yen in late trading, down 0.16 yen from late Tuesday and below its late New York level of 115.53 yen overnight.
On the stock exchange today, share prices fell as plunging bond prices rekindled fears about recent turmoil in credit markets.
Trades remained extremely sparse as most investors were already away for the New Year's holidays.
Still, the market got some support from an overnight rise on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones industrial average closed at 9,320.98 points, up 94.23.
When trading resumes on Jan. 4, investors will be closely monitoring talks between the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the opposition Liberal Party on forming a coalition government, analysts said.
''The domestic political and economic situations remain uncertain,'' said Sachio Ishikawa, a general manager at Chuo Securities.
The Japanese economy continues to falter, as shown by government figures released last week showing retail sales and industrial output slumping and unemployment at a new postwar high.
The broader Tokyo Stock Price Index of all issues listed on the first section closed down 1.84 points, or 0.17 percent, at 1,086.99. The TOPIX closed up 8.94 points, or 0.83 percent, the day before.
An estimated 115.95 million shares changed hands today on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Advances outnumbered declines 576 to 490, with 191 issues unchanged.
In currency dealings, the dollar remained in a narrow range amid the year end lull. Even a sharp drop in government bond prices did not spur currency traders to action.
Many players were also holding back to await the Jan. 1 launch of Europe's single currency, the euro.
The yield on the benchmark No. 203 10-year Japanese government bond soared to 2.010 percent from Tuesday's finish of 1.885 percent, the highest it has been in 15 1/2 months.
The bond's price, which moves in the opposite direction, finished the year at 98.33 yen, down from 99.31 yen.
AP-NY-12-30-98 0456EST
Copyright 1998 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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