TOKYO: Japanese share prices closed the year Tuesday down 42.12% from 2007, marking the worst-ever annual percentage fall in Tokyo's Nikkei index
as the global economic crisis hit hard.
The Nikkei ended at 8,859.56 points as it closed out the year with a half-day session. The stock market reopens January 5.
The year's fall was the worst in percentage terms since the index was established in 1949. The Nikkei gained 112.39 points in Tuesday's abbreviated session, a 1.28 percent advance over the previous day.
But in terms of points, the Nikkei suffered a steeper fall in 1990 with the end of the bubble economy, shedding 15,067.16 points or 38.71% of its value.
In 2008, shares were hardest hit in the auto sector with all of Japan's carmakers drastically cutting their earnings forecasts due to falling demand in the United States and Europe and a soaring yen.
Shares in auto leader Toyota Motor Corp. lost half of their value in the course of the year.
The falls were even more dramatic for some of their competitors such as Nissan Motor Co. and Mazda Motor Corp. as well as for some major Japanese exporters such as camera maker Nikon Corp.
The broader Topix index of all first-section shares ended the year down 41.77 percent at 859.24. For the final session of 2008, the Topix rose 4.47 points or 0.52%.
