Japan's Nikkei 225 stock index plunges 12.4% as investors dump a wide range of shares
Japan's Nikkei 225 stock index has plunged more than 12% as investors worried that the U.S. economy may be in worse shape than had been expected and dumped a wide range of shares
TOKYO — Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock index plunged more than 12% on Monday as investors worried that the U.S. economy may be in worse shape than had been expected and dumped a wide range of shares.
The Nikkei index fell 4,451.28 points to 31,458.42. It dropped 5.8% on Friday and has now logged its worst two-day decline ever, dropping 18.2% in the last two trading sessions.
At its lowest, the Nikkei plunged as much as 13.4% on Monday. Its biggest single-day rout was a drop of 3,836 points, or 14.9%, on the day dubbed “Black Monday” in October 1987. It suffered an 11.4% drop in October 2008 during the global financial crisis and fell 10.6% in the aftermath of a massive earthquake and nuclear meltdowns in northeastern Japan in March 2011.
Monday's decline was the second largest percentage loss in a single day and the largest ever loss in terms of points.
Share prices have fallen in Tokyo since the Bank of Japan raised its benchmark interest rate on Wednesday. The Nikkei index is now about 3.8% below the level it was at a year ago.
The wave of selling hit all sorts of companies.
Toyota Motor Corp.'s shares dropped 13.7% and Honda Motor Co. lost 17.8%. Computer chip maker Tokyo Electron dived 18.5% and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group plunged 17.8%.
Analysts said another factor contributing to the falling share prices was carry trades, where investors borrow money from a country with low interest rates and a relatively weak currency, like Japan, and invest those funds in places that will yield a high return. Investors have been selling stocks to
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