Business News
Japan stocks down as euro debt outweighs positive US data
Apr 6, 2012, 7:04 GMT
Tokyo - Japanese stocks fell Friday after bond yields in Europe rose, prompting a resurgence of concerns that the eurozone debt crisis might not yet be under control.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 79.16 points, or 0.81 per cent, to trade at 9,688.45 at the end of the trading. The broader Topix index was down 6.86 points, or 0.82 per cent, at 825.71.
For the week, the Nikkei was down 3.9 per cent, its biggest weekly loss since August, and the Topix lost 3.4 per cent.
Spanish borrowing costs rose to their highest level relative to German debt this year after an auction of Spanish bonds Wednesday met weaker demand than expected. Italian bonds also slumped, and borrowing costs rose at a French auction.
The news overshadowed positive data from the United States that unemployment claims dropped in the last week of March to their lowest number since April 2008. The US is a key market for export-reliant Japan.
On currency markets at 3 pm (0600 GMT) in Tokyo, the dollar traded at 82.26-28 yen, little changed from Thursday's 5 pm quote of 82.25-26 yen.
The euro was quoted at 107.53-57 yen, down from 108.11-15 yen late Thursday, and at 1.3072-76 dollars, down from 1.3144-45 dollars.
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