Japan Stocks Plunge Most Since March Amid Global Equities Rout
Pedestrians walk past an electronic stock board outside a securities firm in Tokyo on Aug. 2, 2011. Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg
Japanese stocks plunged the most in more than four months as concern the economy is faltering sparked a global equities rout that drove the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to its worst slump since February 2009.
Sony Corp., which makes half of its sales in the U.S. and Europe, tumbled 5.1 percent. Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s largest carmaker, retreated 4 percent. Mitsubishi Corp., Japan’s No. 1 trading company, sank 4.7 percent as commodity prices dropped.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 4.1 percent to 9,266.50 as of 9:07 a.m. in Tokyo, dropping the most since March 15. All 225 members of the Nikkei declined. The broader Topix index plunged 3.8 percent to 794.71.
“It’s a panic attack,” said Prasad Patkar, who helps manage the equivalent of $1.7 billion at Sydney-based Platypus Asset Management Ltd. “There was an expectation that resolution of the U.S. debt-ceiling issue would trigger a relief rally. It looks like everyone forgot about the weakness in the underlying economy.”
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