Japan Nikkei sinks on global sell-off

Headline indices of the Japan share market retreated on Thursday, 11 October 2018, as risk aversion selloff triggered on tracking overnight dive in European and U.S. markets overnight amid fear of rising U.S. interest rates, ongoing trade friction between the U.S. and China, and worries over global growth. Meanwhile, a stronger yen also took a toll on the shares. All TSE 33 issues declined, with shares in Mining, Oil & Coal Products, Electric Appliances, Precision Instruments, Securities & Commodities Futures, and Machinery issues being notable losers. Around late afternoon trade, the 225-issue Nikkei index stumbled 974.22 points, or 4.14%, at 22,531.82. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange tanked 64.67 points, or 3.67%, to 1,699.19.

Wall Street tumbled on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and the Dow marking their biggest daily declines since Feb. 8 as markets were spooked by the prospect of rising interest rates. The fall was driven by a rise in U.S. long-dated Treasury yields, which reinforced expectations of several interest rate hikes over the next 12 months and prompted investors to reassess equity valuations. Over the past few months, an intensifying trade war between the United States and China has also hit risk assets on worries about global growth.

CURRENCY NEWS: Japanese yen appreciated around the 112 yen line against greenback on Thursday, amid safe haven currency demand after bitter Sino-U.S. trade war and worries over global growth sapped confidence.

OFFSHORE MARKET NEWS, US stock market tumbled on Wednesday. Rising bond yields and lingering worries over the trade dispute between the US and China were the main factors driving down share prices. Many investors sold shares in New York because higher US long-term interest rates raise companies' borrowing costs, eroding their corporate earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 831.83 points or 3.2% to 25,598.74, the Nasdaq plummeted 315.97 points or 4.1% to 7,422.05 and the S&P 500 tumbled 94.66 points or 3.3% to 2,785.68.

The major European markets ended lower on Wednesday. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slumped by 1.3%, while the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index plummeted by 2.1% and 2.2%, respectively.

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