Tokyo stocks fall on US and oil concerns

Tokyo stocks fall on US and oil concerns

Tokyo (dpa) - The Tokyo stock market fell hard on Friday, the first trading day of the new year on concerns over the US economy, a strengthened yen and high oil prices.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 616.37 points, or 4.03 per cent, to 14,691.41 in Friday's half-day session.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues was also down 63.77 points, or 4.32 per cent, at 1,411.91.

It is the lowest close for the Nikkei since July 2006 and for the Topix index since October 2005.

On currency markets at 9 am (0000 GMT), the dollar was quoted at 109.49-54 yen, down from last week Thursday's quote of 109.27-37 yen.

The euro was quoted at 1.4741-46 dollars, down from last week's Thursday's quote of 1.4746-56 dollars, and at 161.44-49 yen, down from 161.17-27 yen.

10:05 Jan 04, 2008