Japan’s flagship stock market index Nikkei shed more than 3 percent in the morning trading hours on Monday, as global cues impacted market sentiments.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 was down 3.02 percent, or 1,098.77 points, at 35,292.70 in early trade, while the broader Topix index fell 2.67 percent, or 69.28 points, at 2,528.14.
The fall in the Japanese market followed a global slump caused by weaker than expected US jobs growth and speculation over a Fed rate cut.
“Japanese markets are expected to start with a significant decline due to losses in US markets as well as caution over the strong yen,” AFP reported, quoting senior market analyst Toshiyuki Kanayama of brokerage Monex.
Japan’s currency has recently picked up on bets of a US Federal Reserve interest rate cut and growing expectations that the Bank of Japan will continue to raise its own borrowing costs.
US jobs data came in below analyst estimates on Friday, pointing to a slowing economy and causing shares to tumble.
“Global jitters and a suddenly stronger yen are dragging down the index, further compounding the risk-off mood gripping markets,” said Stephen Innes in his Dark Side Of The Boom newsletter.
In Tokyo, semiconductor shares plunged, with Tokyo Electron sinking 5.77 percent to 20,730 yen and Advantest dropping 5.85 percent to 5,525 yen.
Shares of automakers were also trading lower, with Toyota falling 3.14 percent to 2,501.5 yen and Honda losing 3.47 percent to 1,474.5 yen.
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