TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Stocks fell back sharply on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Friday, dragged down by index futures-led selling amid the yen’s strengthening, with the benchmark Nikkei average closing at the lowest level in nearly seven months.
The 225-issue Nikkei average tumbled 390.23 points, or 2.15 percent, to close at 17,792.16, the lowest finish since Feb. 10. On Thursday, the key market gauge advanced 86.99 points.
The TOPIX index of all First-Section issues lost 30.45 points, or 2.06 percent, to 1,444.53, after rising 8.99 points the previous day.
Volume increased to 2,652 million shares from Thursday’s 2,222 million shares.
In index futures trading on the Osaka Exchange, the key September contract on the Nikkei average slumped 470 points to end at 17,760.Speech
