Nikkei Briefly Plunges Over 1,200 Points in Morning

Tokyo, Nov. 18 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average briefly tumbled more than 1,200 points to sink below 50,000 on Tuesday morning, with selling hitting a wide range of issues on the heels of overnight falls in all three U.S. major stock gauges. At 10:04 a.m., the Nikkei index stood down 1,216.60 points, or 2.42 pct, from Monday at 49,107.31. Over 80 pct of Nikkei component issues skidded lower, including high-priced stocks such as SoftBank Group, Tokyo Electron and Advantest. The day’s decline “remains within the scope of (speed) adjustment,” an official at a major securities firm said. At the same time, the official also offered a cautious view, saying, “Should the decline persist even after the Nikkei slips below its 25-day moving average (at 49,906), the recent AI-driven uptrend could potentially reverse.” Japanese government bonds also came under selling pressure. In interdealer trading in Tokyo on Tuesday, the yield on the newest issue of 10-year JGBs, regarded as the country’s benchmark long-term interest rate, rose as high as 1.750 pct, the highest level since June 2008. In Tokyo currency trading, the dollar stood at 155.25-26 yen at 10 a.m. Tuesday, up from 154.68-69 yen at 5 p.m. Monday. The euro was at 179.89-90 yen, compared with 179.64-65 yen. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]