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Tokyo stocks close down, Nissan plunges over 5%
TOKYO, Nov 20, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Tokyo stocks dropped on Tuesday with
shares in Nissan diving more than five percent and Mitsubishi also plunging
after chairman Carlos Ghosn was arrested over allegations of financial
misconduct.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 1.09 percent, or 238.04 points, to
close at 21,583.12, while the broader Topix index was down 0.73 percent, or
11.94 points, at 1,625.67.
Nissan shares lost 5.45 percent to 950.7 yen after dipping to a low of 940
yen, down 6.51 percent, at one point.
Mitsubishi Motors was down 6.84 percent to 680 yen.
The dollar fetched 112.52 yen in Asian afternoon trade, against 112.54 yen
in New York and 112.77 yen in Tokyo on Monday.
Declines in Japanese shares came after worries about the US-China trade war
and slowing technology sector growth battered Wall Street on Monday.
French auto giant Renault also plunged in Paris on a burgeoning scandal
surrounding Ghosn, who heads the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance.
“The Nissan case gave some uncertainties to the market,” said Daiwa
Securities senior technical analyst Hikaru Sato.
“The case affected the auto sector partially, but the impact is still
limited,” Sato told AFP.
Honda lost 0.40 percent to 3,166 yen but Toyota gained 1.58 percent to
6,717 yen.
Elsewhere in Tokyo, game giant Nintendo was down 5.67 percent at 31,220 yen
and Sony was down 3.08 percent at 5,709 yen.
BSS/AFP/MR/ 1443 hrs