MW: Japanese shares close down, as nuclear fears weigh
By Michael Kitchen
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks finished with losses, moving off early lows in the midday but falling again in the final hour on reports that higher-than-allowed levels of radioactive iodine had turned up in Tokyo drinking water. The benchmark Nikkei Stock Average (JP:NI225 9,449, -158.85, -1.65%) , which had traded above the 9,500 level in the early afternoon, dropped below 9,400 after news the Tokyo government had warned against infants drinking the city's tap water. It later recovered slightly to finish down 1.7% at 9,449.47. The Topix lost 0.8% to close at 861.10. Shares of firms whose production was hardest hit by the March 11 earthquake fared the worst, with NEC Corp. (JP:6701 184.00, -9.00, -4.66%) (NIPNF 2.30, -0.20, -8.00%) down 4.7% and Fujitsu Ltd. (JP:6702 468.00, -33.00, -6.59%) (FJTSY 31.10, +2.10, +7.24%) dropping 6.6%. However, trading companies managed gains as oil prices rose, with Mitsui & Co. (JP:8031 1,438, +27.00, +1.91%) (MITSY 345.99, -1.21, -0.35%) adding 1.9%, and rival Mitsubishi Corp. (JP:8058 2,234, +33.00, +1.50%) (MSBHY 54.75, -0.65, -1.17%) up 1.5%.
