TOKYO: Tokyo stocks fell 0.67 percent on Wednesday after poor earnings and weak profit forecasts from major US industrial firms sent Wall Street plummeting.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange gave up 59.95 points to 8,954.30, while the broader Topix index of all first-section issues slipped 0.81 percent, or 6.10 points, to 743.27.
The drop in Tokyo came after Tuesday's plunge in the three main Wall Street indexes after disappointing results from firms including DuPont, 3M and Radio Shack.
After opening in negative territory, the headline Nikkei temporarily hovered above water in afternoon, lifted by upbeat Chinese manufacturing data, but eased back again towards the end of the day.
Analysts added, however, that the losses were tempered by a generally weaker yen and speculation that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) will usher in more easing measures.
"If the BoJ eases, stocks will rise," said Fumiyuki Nakanishi, general manager of investment & research at SMBC Friend Securities.
Shares in Apple suppliers dipped after the US giant unveiled its new iPad Mini, which some analysts said seemed to be overpriced.
TDK slipped 0.49 percent to 3,000 yen and Toshiba lost 0.70 percent to 283.
"Hopes had been building that the iPad Mini would be cheap enough for parents to be able to afford to give it to their kids as Christmas presents this year," Tachibana Securities market analyst Kenichi Hirano told Dow Jones Newswires.
"But with a price tag of $329, we are seeing a negative 'sticker shock' reaction," he added.
Sharp Corp. rose 6.37 percent to 167 yen following a report in the Nikkei business daily that it had begun selling a smartphone in China developed with Taiwan partner Hon Hai Precision.
All Nippon Airways rose 1.28 percent to 158 yen on a Nikkei report that the firm's group operating profit for the six months ended in September likely surged about 40 percent from a year ago.
On currency markets, the euro bought $1.2984 and 103.64 yen, compared with $1.2978 and 103.64 yen in New York late Tuesday. The dollar fetched 79.79, compared with 79.84 yen. (AFP)
