Tokyo markets lower on exporters

In Tokyo on Wednesday both the Nikkei 225 and the Topix index saw substantial losses as investors continued to worry about the condition of the US economy. The Nikkei closed down 1.9 percent to 15,096.01, it’s lowest closing level since November. Meanwhile, the Topix dropped 2.2 percent to 1,533.54. Another drag on the markets was the continued pullout of foreign investors from the Japanese market, as sell orders from foreign sources exceeded buy orders for the tenth day in a row.

Automobile manufacturers suffered due to their exposure to US demand. Mazda was down 4.5 percent to ¥651. Honda lost 2 percent to 7,190, Nissan dropped 1.4 percent to ¥1,303, and Toyota, Japan’s largest carmaker, declined by 1.3 percent to ¥5,920.

Heavy machinery manufacturer Komatsu dropped 6.5 percent to ¥2,015 on a downgrade from “buy” to “sell” from KBC Securities.

The electronics sector was down 2.3 percent as a whole as Matsushita Electric, which makes the Panasonic brand of consumer electronics, fell 2 percent to ¥2,415. Pioneer lost 6.6 percent to ¥1,766.

Export-focused stocks were not the only losers on the day, as the banking sector fell 2 percent as a whole and Mizuho declined by 3 percent to ¥891,000. Securities and insurance companies were also down. Daiwa Securities dropped 5.2 percent to ¥1,350, while life insurer Millea was down 4 percent to ¥1,900,000.

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