TOKYO (AP) — Tokyo shares tumbled Wednesday as disappointment spread that the Japanese central bank didn’t announce additional stimulus. Other global bourses rose.
The Nikkei 225, the benchmark for the Tokyo Stock Exchange, finished down 2.1 percent at 14,299.69. The dollar was trading at about 102 yen, down from about 104 yen a month earlier, which if sustained could hurt sales and earnings at export-reliant companies.
The central bank’s decision Tuesday to refrain from adding to its already lavish monetary stimulus has helped to push the yen higher. There had been hopes for more stimulus in the wake of an increase in Japan’s sales tax to 8 percent from 5 percent that could crimp recovery in the world’s third-largest economy.
Other markets rebounded after Wall Street broke a three-day losing streak. Investors have grown jittery lately about whether technology, Internet and biotech stocks are largely overvalued, which sparked a sell-off in the U.S.
Britain’s FTSE 100 added 0.8 percent to 6,639.99 and France’s CAC-40 gained 0.6 percent to 4,449.36. Germany’s DAX rose 0.5 percent to 9,535.05.
Wall Street was set to extend gains. Dow futures rose 0.3 percent to 16,223 and S&P 500 futures gained 0.2 percent to 1,848.40.
In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.1 percent to 22,843.17 and South Korea’s Kospi added 0.3 percent to 1,998.95. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 jumped 1.0 percent to 5,463.78. Markets in Southeast Asia also rose.
Seiichi Suzuki, market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Securities Co., said the Nikkei will likely recover in coming weeks ahead of the next Bank of Japan policy meeting, with hopes for more action on monetary policy.
Benchmark U.S. crude for May delivery was down 22 cents at $102.35 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained $2.12 to $102.56 on Tuesday because of renewed unrest in eastern Ukraine and a lowered domestic production forecast from the U.S. Energy Department.
In currencies, the euro was little changed at $1.3803 from $1.3796 late Tuesday. The dollar rose to 102.12 yen from 101.90 yen.
AP
