The Nikkei stock average slid 2.7 percent on Thursday, after earlier hitting its lowest point in over two weeks, as disappointment over a U.S. bank rescue plan hurt financial shares and a firmer yen dragged down exporters. One bright spot was gold and copper producer Sumitomo Metal Mining (5713.T), which gained 5.1 percent after gold prices jumped to a 6-½ month high on Wednesday as risk aversion prompted investors to buy gold and bullion-backed exchange-traded funds as a safe haven. [GOL/] After Tokyo financial markets were closed on Wednesday for a national holiday, Japanese investors on Thursday played catch-up with falls on Wall Street. U.S. stocks slid more than 4 percent on Tuesday on concern a reworked plan to shore up the financial sector may not be enough to thaw credit markets and alleviate the deepening recession. The stocks recovered some ground on Wednesday. [.N] "Investors were disappointed as the U.S. bank rescue plan turned out to be rather small in size and it gave the impression the establishment of a 'bad bank' might not proceed smoothly," said Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management. "Additionally, even though both the House and the Senate agreed on the U.S. stimulus package, there's a concern that the U.S. market may not gain on the news as it could merely see it as a sign that another event had passed." The benchmark Nikkei .N225 shed 213.30 points to 7,732.64, after falling more than 3 percent at one stage to hit its lowest level since Jan. 26. The broader Topix lost 2.1 percent to 762.07. Banking shares fell. Japan's top lender Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306.T) shed 3.5 percent to 468 yen, while No.2 Mizuho Financial Group (8411.T) lost 3.7 percent to 211 yen. Exporters also came under pressure as the Japanese currency gained against the dollar, which dipped roughly 0.2 percent to 90.15 yen . Investors dislike a stronger yen as it eats into Japanese exporter profits when repatriated. Canon (7751.T) dropped 6.2 percent to 2,415 yen and Kyocera Corp (6971.T) lost 4.1 percent to 5,810 yen. Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) fell 2.9 percent to 3,050 yen. But Sumitomo Metal Mining gained to 992 yen, one of the top positive contributors to the Nikkei 225.

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