Nikkei hits 16-month low as oil rally sparks investor worries of slowdown

Japan's Nikkei index hit a 16-month low below the 25,000 level on Tuesday, as investors fretted that surging oil and other commodity prices would hurt corporate earnings and slow down economic growth.

By 0134 GMT, the Nikkei share average was down 0.1% at 25,187.42, after falling as much as 0.9% earlier in the session. The broader Topix lost 0.41% to 1,786.93.

Wall Street's main indexes fell sharply overnight, with the Nasdaq Composite confirming it was in a bear market, as the prospect of a ban on oil imports from Russia sent crude prices soaring and fuelled concerns about rising inflation.

Prices of oil and other commodities soared on Monday. Brent, the international benchmark, briefly hit more than $139 a barrel, its highest since 2008.

"Oil and other commodity prices rose and that raised investor concern about the global economic slowdown and pressure on corporate earnings," said Ikuo Mitsui, a fund manager at Aizawa Securities.

"Both the Nikkei and Topix have fallen to a level where investors see little downside risks. So, investors scooped up beaten-down stocks. But it is still hard to tell when the market will start making a rebound."

Energy-related stocks led the declines among the Tokyo Stock Exchange's 33 industry sectors, with oil explorers and refiners losing 5.96% and 5.5%, respectively.

Hino Motors plunged for a second day, falling 11.54% to become the worst performer on the Nikkei after the Toyota Motor unit said it had falsified emissions data.

Meanwhile, technology shares advanced, with electronic application equipment maker Keyence up 4.34%, game maker Sony Group rising 1.85% and robot maker Fanuc gaining 3.43%.

Precision makers rose, with Hoya rising 2.13% and Terumo gaining 1.38%. There were 62 advancers on the Nikkei index against 157 decliners.

(Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)