RTRS: Nikkei hits 5-1/2 year closing low as yen advances
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average slid 9.6 percent to hit a 5- year closing low, having lost 50 percent this year, with exporters hit by the double punch of a Sony Corp profit warning and a sharply higher yen.
Sony plunged more than 14 percent after the company halved its annual operating profit forecast by 57 percent, to far below market estimates in its second downward revision this year, blaming a firmer yen and slowing demand for cameras and flat TVs.
The benchmark Nikkei lost 811.90 points to 7,649.08. The broader Topix was down 7.5 percent at 806.11.
