By DPA,
Tokyo : The Tokyo stock market plummetted nearly 10 percent in early trading Thursday after overnight falls on Wall Street amid growing recession fears in the US and worldwide.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average plunged 911.91 points, or 9.55 percent, to 8,635.56.
The broader Topix index of all first-section issues dropped 72.3 points, or 7.57 percent, to 883.21.
After the stocks fell, Japan’s central bank injected 600 billion yen ($5.92 billion) into money markets Thursday to ease the credit crunch that has resulted from the global financial crisis.
The bank absorbed 2.2 trillion yen from the market the previous day as interest rates fell. It had been the Bank of Japan’s first fund-draining operation since it began liquidity infusions on Sep 16.
On currency markets at 9 a.m. (0000 GMT), the dollar was quoted at 99.30-35 yen, down from Wednesday’s 5 p.m. quote of 101.28-30 yen.
The euro was quoted at $1.3434-39, down from Wednesday’s 5 p.m. quote of $1.3592-94, and at 133.42-47 yen, down from 137.66-70 yen.