By DPA,
Tokyo : Stocks in Tokyo continued their downward course Friday, with the Nikkei plunging below the psychologically significant mark of 9,000 points for the first time in more than five years.
A drop in the opening minutes came after US stocks plummeted Thursday. At mid-morning the benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average plunged 974.12 points, or 10.64 percent, to 8,183.37.
Earlier, the Nikkei had fallen 1,042.08 points, or 11.38 percent, to 8,115.41.
The broader Topix index of all first-section issues shed 75.20 points, or 8.31 percent, to 829.91 in morning trading.
This was a reaction to US stocks plummeting again Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping below 9,000 points for the first time in five years, as a series of US and global efforts to tackle the financial crisis have failed to calm investors.
Both the blue-chip Dow and broader Standard & Poor’s 500 tumbled more than 7 percent. The Dow dropped 678.91 points, or 7.33 percent, to 8,579.19. The S&P fell 75.02 points, or 7.62 percent, to 909.92.
On currency markets the dollar traded weaker at 99.02-07 yen, down from Thursday’s 5 p.m. quote of 101.16-18 yen.
The euro was quoted at $1.3558-63, down from late Thursday’s quote of $1.3734-35, and at 134.27-37 yen, down from 138.94-98 yen.