Nikkei tumbles to 2 1/2-month low after Fed's decision

Japan's Nikkei share average tumbled more than 3% on Thursday morning after the US Federal Reserve scaled back stimulus amid emerging market turmoil, while a rise in the yen soured overall sentiment.

 

The Nikkei dropped 3.3% to 14,873.03 in mid-morning trade after falling to as far as 14,853.83, the lowest since November 14. The index's support is seen at 14,731.17, a 61.8 retracement from an October low to a December high.

 

A spike in the yen soured market sentiment after the Fed, in a widely expected move, cut its bond purchases by another $10 billion to $65 billion a month. The decision sent investors scurrying to the safety of bonds and yen.

 

Analysts said that the market had priced in the Fed's decision to trim its stimulus by another $10 billion, but was disappointed that it didn't address concerns about turmoil in emerging markets.

 

"The market was expecting some thoughtful comments about what's happening in emerging market assets as that's something most investors are concerned about now," said Kenji Shiomura, a senior analyst at Daiwa Securities.

 

The Topix dropped 2.9% to 1,219.98.

 

Sentiment remained fragile with many emerging market currencies under pressure again overnight.

 

The South African rand fell more than 2% to the dollar even after the country's central bank raised rates for the first time in almost six years.

 

The dollar last traded at 102.15 yen, having fallen from Wednesday's peak of 103.45, hitting exporters as the strong yen hurts their competitiveness as well as their overseas earnings when repatriated.

 

Toyota Motor Corp  shed 2.1% and Sony Corp dropped 2.7%.

 

Nintendo Co  initially rose more than 7% morning on a share buy-back plan but the gain was erased by mid-morning after the company's decision to stick with its hardware platform strategy disappointed investors. Shares of Nintendo - the third-most traded stock - were down 3.7%.

 

Bucking the weakness, stem-cell related stocks jumped, with Takara Bio Inc  soaring as much as 10% and Trans Genic Inc  as much as 16% on news scientists have found a simple way to reprogramme mature animal cells back into an embryonic-like state that allows them to generate many types of tissue.

 

The real estate sector took a hit after Mizuho Securities cut ratings of Sumitomo Realty & Development , Mitsubishi Estate Co  and Nomura Real Estate Holdings  to 'neutral' from 'buy', which fell between 3.2% and 4.7%.

 

The JPX-Nikkei Index 400, a recently introduced gauge comprised of firms with high return on equity and strong corporate governance, dropped 2.8% to 11,032.44.