To: RR who wrote (37742 ) 6/12/2001 2:08:40 AM From: Sully- Read Replies (1) | Respond to Nikkei falls 2.0 pct,dragged lower by banks, techsTokyo's benchmark Nikkei average slid over two percent in Tuesday afternoon trade after heightened concerns about the outlook for Japan's struggling economy and a weaker Nasdaq hit a wide range of shares from techs and banks.``The GDP data forced investors to recognise Japan's weak economic fundamentals and realise that the market has been propped up mainly by hopes for future structural reforms,'' said Masatoshi Sato, manager at the equity division of Mizuho Investors Securities' equity trading.Japan's gross domestic product (GDP) data on Monday came in worse than expected with a contraction of 0.2 percent, raising fears the world's second-largest economy could be slipping into its fourth recession in a decade. Another group of major losers was the banking sector because lingering concerns over bad loans held by major lenders continued to weigh. biz.yahoo.com
