Tokyo, 14 September, /AJMEDIA/
Tokyo stocks opened sharply lower Wednesday, pulling the Nikkei index down by more than 2 percent, as stronger-than-expected U.S. inflation data led Wall Street to tumble overnight.
In the first 15 minutes of trading, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average plunged 802.38 points, or 2.80 percent, from Tuesday to 27,812.25. The broader Topix index was down 43.37 points, or 2.18 percent, at 1,943.20.
On the top-tier Prime Market, decliners were led by electric appliance, metal product, and precision instrument issues.
At 9 a.m., the dollar fetched 144.41-44 yen compared with 144.57-67 yen in New York and 142.25-26 yen in Tokyo at 5 p.m. Tuesday.
The euro was quoted at $0.9976-9980 and 144.06-15 yen against $0.9963-9973 and 144.09-19 yen in New York and $1.0146-0148 and 144.33-37 yen in Tokyo late Tuesday afternoon.
