Tokyo Stocks Suffer Another Day of Rout amid Middle East Woes

Tokyo, March 23 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo stocks dropped almost across the board on Monday, sending the benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average down over 3 pct for the second straight market day, amid concerns that the ongoing conflict in the Middle East could be prolonged. The index of 225 selected issues listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Prime section closed at 51,515.49, down 1,857.04 points, or 3.47 pct, from Thursday. The broader TOPIX index finished at 3,486.44, down 122.96 points, or 3.41 pct. The Tokyo market was closed on Friday for a national holiday. The Nikkei average briefly lost over 2,600 points, slipping below 51,000 for the first time since Jan. 5 on an intraday basis. Over the three-day weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump urged Iran to lift the de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil chokepoint, within 48 hours, but Iran rejected this demand. “Investors grew anxious as they couldn’t see progress toward resolving the situation,” said an official of a major brokerage firm. The Tokyo market also reflected Wall Street’s weakness late last week as renewed inflation concerns dampened hopes for interest rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve. “Risk-averse selling spread globally,” said an official of a Japanese asset management firm. Meanwhile, the key 10-year Japanese government bond yield rose as high as 2.32 pct in Tokyo interdealer trading, hitting the highest level in about two months. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]