Japanese shares dropped 1.6 per cent Tuesday morning after overnight losses on Wall Street as export-oriented issues were battered by the yen’s rise against the euro.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 139.15 points, or 1.63 per cent, to 8,406.33 by the end of the morning session at 11 am (0200 GMT).
The broader-based Topix index was down 13.64 points, or 1.83 per cent, at 733.47.
In New York, the euro dropped sharply against the yen on Monday, briefly hitting 100.96 yen, the lowest in 10 years. In Tokyo, the euro was hovering around the lower-101-yen range.
A strong yen makes Japanese goods more expensive abroad and erodes repatriated earnings.
Overnight, major U.S. stock indices closed at their lowest levels in more than a year as fears about Greece continued to weigh heavily on investors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 2.36 per cent.
In Tokyo, shares in Toyota Motor Corp dropped 2.54 per cent on reports that the Japanese carmaker’s sales in the U.S. market dropped 17.5 per cent in September from a year earlier. The carmaker suffered a 12.7 per cent fall in August.
On currency markets at 11 am, the dollar traded at 76.70-73 yen, down from Monday’s 5 pm quote of 76.91-95 yen.
The euro traded at 1.3212-3214 dollars, down from 1.3355-3357 dollars Monday, and at 101.36-40 yen, down from 102.73-75 yen.
