Nikkei Briefly Plunges Over 1,000 Points in Morning

Tokyo, Nov. 14 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average briefly gave up over 1,000 points in early Friday trading, after the U.S. market tumbled the previous day on receding anticipation of an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve. The Nikkei hit 50,271.06 at 9:06 a.m., down 1,010.77 points, or 1.97 pct, from Thursday’s close. All three key Wall Street gauges plunged Thursday due to receding hopes for a December rate cut by the Fed, spurring broad-based selling on the Tokyo stock market as well from the outset of Friday’s trading. Semiconductor-related issues heavily weighted in the Nikkei especially attracted selling. The Nikkei’s plunge is “unavoidable as it had been hovering at high levels recently,” an official at a major securities firm said. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]