Tokyo Stocks Fall Below 19-Year Low, Dollar Higher Against Yen

Jan 30, 2003
The Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) - Tokyo stocks fell below a 19-year closing low Friday morning following Wall Street's losses. The dollar gained against the Japanese yen.

The benchmark 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average was down 24.86 points, or 0.30 percent, at 8,291.95 at the open - below a 19-year closing low of 8,303.39 hit on Nov. 14, 2002.

On Thursday, the index closed down 14.27 points, or 0.17 percent, to 8,316.81. points.

The dollar bought 119.06 yen at 9 a.m. Friday, up 0.30 yen from late Thursday in Tokyo but below its late New York level of 119.12 yen overnight.

On the stock market, prices fell quickly in reaction to the fall on Wall Street, traders said. Corporate pension funds were also cashing in their holdings by selling stocks.

In New York, stocks plunged on the latest U.S. gross domestic product report Thursday. The Commerce Department reported that the economy - as measured by gross domestic product - grew at an annual rate of just 0.7 percent in the final three months of 2002.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 165.58 points to close at 7,945.13. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index also fell 35.71 points to 1,322.35.

The broader Tokyo Stock Price Index of all issues on the exchange's first section was down 1.96 points, or 0.24 percent, to 823.20 early Friday. The TOPIX lost 0.56 points, or 0.07 percent the day before.

In currency trading, the euro bought 128.80 yen early Friday in Tokyo, up from 128.22 yen late Thursday. Against the dollar, it traded at $1.0826, down from $1.0798 late Thursday.

The yield on Japan's benchmark 10-year government bond rose to 0.7650 from a record-low 0.7500 late Thursday. The price for the bond fell 0.14 to 101.23 points.

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