Japan’s Nikkei share average tumbled 4 percent on Thursday (January 14) morning after Wall Street languished on worries about weak oil prices and a slowdown in the global economy, battering global cyclical stocks such as exporters.
The Nikkei 225 stumbled 3.7 percent to 17,063.21 in mid-morning trade after hitting as low as 17,004.12, the lowest since late September of 2015.
If the benchmark index falls below 16,901.49, an intraday low marked on September 29, 2015 it will be the lowest in more than a year.
Japan’s machinery data, which was released early in the morning, did not help sentiment. Core machinery orders fell 14.4 percent in November from the previous month, down for the first time in three months and marking a bigger decline than economists’ median estimate for a 7.9 percent drop.
The broader Topix dropped 3.4 percent to 1,392.57 and the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 fell 3.5 percent to 12,533.67. (Reuters)
