By Mahmoud Gamal

Mubasher: Tokyo Stock Exchange ended Tuesday’s session more than 5% lower after another sell-off in U.S and European markets, while most investors shifted their focus to Yen amid rising concerns about equities.  

The Nikkei index fell by 5.4% to 16,085 points. TOPIX, the broader index, also dropped 5.5% to 1,304 points.

“Today, Japanese stocks slumped as a result of the surge of Yen’s value, along with traders saving the hard currency for a “rainy day”. Mohamed Al Shammari, analyst, exclusively told Mubasher.

At early trading, Yen rose 0.9% against the dollar that is equal to 114.7 Yens.

This steep decline was ascribed to the downturn of Japan’s banking sector and investors’ concerns about the central bank’s decision on lowering interest rate to meet the targeted inflation rate (2%).

Translated by Ahmed El-Sayed Ali