By KOHEI HIGASHITANI/ Staff Writer
August 2, 2024 at 17:05 JST
An electronic stock board in Tokyo’s Chuo Ward shows the Nikkei 225 index plunging more than 2,000 points at one point on the morning of Aug. 2. (Kotaro Ebara)
Tokyo's stock market plummeted to a six-month low on Aug. 2, with the Nikkei 225 index closing at 35,909.70, down 2,216.63 points, or 5.81 percent, from the previous day's close.
This marked the first time in about half a year that the index had fallen below the 36,000 level. The steep decline marked the second largest in history in terms of points, following the "Black Monday" stock market crash of October 1987.
On Aug. 1, the Dow Jones Industrial Average in New York temporarily fell by more than 700 points. With the Institute for Supply Management (ISM)'s key manufacturing index also falling short of market expectations, concerns about an economic slowdown intensified.
Coupled with selling to lock in profits following recent gains, the market experienced a significant decline. The Dow closed at 40,347.97, down 494.82 points, or 1.21 percent. This marked the first decline in three days.
Following this trend, the Tokyo market opened sharply lower.
In the Tokyo foreign exchange market, the yen continued to strengthen against the dollar, briefly reaching 148 yen per dollar in the morning.
The rapid appreciation of the yen has been pressuring export-related stocks.
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