Shares hit five-year low in Japan
Japanese shares dropped to their lowest level in almost five years amid growing fears over the widening financial crisis.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 317.90 points, or 3.03%, to close at 10,155.90 today – its lowest finish since December 2003.
At one point the index tumbled more than 5% to 9,916.21 in the morning session, dropping below the psychologically key 10,000 level for the first time in almost five years. It recovered later in the day.
The broader Topix index also lost 2.15% to 977.61 today.
Car-makers were among the biggest losers.
Mitsubishi Motors was down 10.3% to 131 yen. Nissan fell 4.79% to 556 yen, and Toyota dropped 4.87% to 3,710 yen.
