Tokyo stocks plunge on weak Wall Street, Yen surge

Tokyo stocks plunged Friday, with a key index losing more than 2 percent at one point following overnight falls on Wall Street and due to a stronger Yen. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) slid 145.00 points, or 1.45 percent, from Monday to 9,859.20, falling below the psychologically important 10,000 mark. Japanese financial markets were closed from Tuesday to Thursday for national holidays. The broader Tokyo Stock Price Index, which includes all shares on the market's First Section on the TSE, lost 9.05 points, or 1.05 percent, to 856. 50, the steepest drop since April 12. The Nikkei lost more than 2 percent during the morning session but recovered slightly in the afternoon as investors bought back shares. 23 of 33 subindexes on the TSE closed in negative territory, with major decliners including oil and coal sectors. In the currency market, at 5 p.m. (0800 GMT), the US dollar traded at JPY 80.38-43 compared with JPY 80.00-10 at 5 p.m. Thursday in New York. The US dollar briefly plunged to JPY 79.57 in London on Thursday.