(RTTNews) - The stock market in Japan ended sharply lower on Monday, having shed more than 2%, taking cues from Wall Street, where the major averages ended in negative territory as traders sold-off stocks amid concerns about the sustainability of economic recovery following weaker economic data. The market in Tokyo followed the sentiment across the region and all the sectors witnessed sell-off, as optimism about recovery has been replaced by pessimism.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index slipped below the psychological 10,000-mark and lost 231.79 points, or 2.31% to 9,803, and the broader Topix index of all First Section issues was down 14.13 points, or 1.58%, to 881.

Light sweet crude oil futures for December delivery ended at $77.49 a barrel in electronic trading, up $0.49 per barrel from previous close at $77.00 a barrel in New York on Friday.

Almost all the sectors witnessed declines as optimism faded and pessimism about sustaining the economic recovery replaced the hopes. Of the 225 stocks in the Nikkei-225 Index, about 200 stocks ended in the negative territory while a few stocks in the gas and electric power sector managed to end in the green with minor gains.

Among the gainers, Osaka Gas gained 1.32% and Tokyo Gas advanced 0.84%. Among the electric power stocks, Chubu Electric Power was a major gainer with a gain of 4.21%, followed by Kansai Electric and Power with a gain of 2.04% and Tokyo Electric Power that advanced 0.67%.

Automotive stocks ended in negative territory on weak economic data, especially consumer sentiment, in the U.S, the major export market for Japanese automakers. Toyota Motor Corp. fell 2.46%, Suzuki Motor lost 2.91%, Honda Motor shed 2.08%, Nissan Motor slumped 3.27% and Mitsubishi Motor slipped 2.21%.

Trading companies also ended weaker. Mitsubishi Corp. declined 3.14%, Toyota Tsusho Corp. slumped 4.59%, Sumitomo Corp. lost 4.44%, Mitsui & Co. fell 3.33% and Itochu Corp. shed 4.25%.

Banking stocks also slipped into red on concerns about recovery. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial declined 1.58%, Resona Holdings lost 3.65% and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial fell 1.21%. However, Mizuho Financial managed to buck the trend and added 0.55%.

Mixed trading was witnessed among shipping stocks. Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha fell 3.55% and Nippon Yusen lost 0.88%. However, Mitsui OSK Lines bucked the trend and added 0.56%.

In the U.S., stocks saw a sharp pullback on Friday, as a batch of mixed economic data raised questions regarding the economic recovery. The major averages all closed in negative territory by substantial margins, more than offsetting the strong gains posted in the previous session. The Dow closed down by 249.85 points or 2.5% at 9,713, the Nasdaq fell by 52.44 points or 2.5% to 2,045 and the S&P 500 slipped by 29.92 points or 2.8% to 1,036.

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Posted in Categories: Japan, Releases, Stocks, USA.

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