Tokyo stocks down 0.12% by noon

I / Tokyo November 21, 2011, 10:16 IST

Tokyo stocks fell 0.12% today, weighed down by worries over the continuing European sovereign debt crisis, brokers said.

The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange slipped 9.87 points to 8,365.04 on the first extended morning session. The Topix index of all first-section issues fell 0.26%, or 1.89 points, to 718.09.

From today, the bourse lengthened the morning trade session by 30 minutes to 0230 GMT for the convenience of investors while leaving unchanged the afternoon session, which closes at 0600 GMT.

The market continued to be weighed down by Europe's sovereign debt woes, said Kenichi Hirano operating officer at Tachibana Securities.

"After all, the European situation remains unclear," he said.

Japan's unexpected trade deficit in October also weighed on sentiment, Hirano added.

Government figures showed Japan logged a surprise trade deficit of 273.8 billion yen ($3.6 billion) in October as exports dropped off more steeply than expected amid the yen's sharp rises against the dollar and euro.

Yumi Nishimura, senior market analyst at Daiwa Securities, said the focus this week would likely be on European Commission proposals to fight Europe's debt crisis.

The proposals to be unveiled Wednesday will include new economic rules for the continent and shared representation for euro zone nations at the International Monetary Fund.

A proposal also calls for the eurozone to use its combined strength in the bond markets to replace some or all of the fund-raising currently being done by national governments.