By Michael Kitchen
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japanese shares took a beating Tuesday, with global stock weakness weighing on the market and with exporter firms -- and tech shares in particular -- hit by a stronger yen. The benchmark Nikkei Stock Average closed 3.1% lower at 9,459.9 for its fifth straight losing session, while the broader Topix ended down 2.3% at 859.8. Notable decliners included major tech names, as Renesas Electronics Corp. (JP:6723 974.00, +7.00, +0.72%) (RNECY 5.25, -0.36, -6.42%) fell 9.8%, Sony Corp. (JP:6758 2,872, -12.00, -0.42%) (SNE 31.37, -0.89, -2.76%) lost 5%, and Elpida Memory Inc. (JP:6665 1,619, +5.00, +0.31%) (ELPDF 18.15, +0.55, +3.13%) dropped 6.4%. The sell-off came as the U.S. dollar fell to 89.90 yen, down from 90.53 yen late Monday. |
