Nikkei Average Briefly Sheds Over 1,300 Points in Morning

Tokyo, July 13 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average briefly slipped over 1,300 points Monday morning, led by selling of index futures triggered by a plunge in South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix in South Korea’s stock market. The index of 225 major issues listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Prime section finished the morning session at 67,786.86, down 770.87 points, or 1.12 pct, from Friday’s closing. The Nikkei rose more than 500 points in early trading, following gains in SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics on the South Korean market. But SK Hynix turned lower later, sparking sales of Samsung and Japanese stocks, market sources said. “Nikkei 225 futures and Japanese tech issues followed (the plunge of) SK Hynix,” an official of a foreign securities firm said. Among Prime section issues, memory chip maker Kioxia Holdings and electronic parts maker Taiyo Yuden, both Nikkei components, came under heavy selling pressures. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]