Stocks in Tokyo plummeted more than 3 per cent in Friday morning trading following heavy losses on Wall Street and European markets as investors were concerned about the health of the global economy.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 324.92 points, or 3.36 per cent, to trade at 9,334.26, briefly falling more than 4 per cent to a five-month low.
The broader-based Topix index was down 26.1 points, or 3.16 per cent, at 800.26.
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Overnight, US stocks took a steep dive, with all three major Wall Street indices plunging more than 4 per cent and erasing their gains for the year. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 4.31 per cent.
On Thursday, Japan’s Finance Ministry and the central bank stepped into the currency market, selling yen to buy up the US dollar as the dollar had been standing at the low-77-yen level in Thursday morning trading.
A stronger yen makes Japanese goods more expensive overseas and erodes repatriated earnings.
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The bank also decided to expand its asset purchase programme to 50 trillion yen (630 billion dollars) from 40 trillion yen to help spur the economy.
On currency markets at 11 am (0200 GMT), the dollar traded at 78.68-70 yen, down from Thursday’s 5 pm quote of 79.89—91 yen.
The euro traded at 1.4110-4112 dollars, down from 1.4260-4262 dollars Thursday, and at 111.00—04 yen, down sharply from 113.91-95 yen.