Tokyo Stocks Plunge in Morning amid Concern over Egypt

Tokyo, Jan. 31 (Jiji Press)--Stocks fell sharply on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Monday morning, as investors became risk-averse amid concern over rising tensions in Egypt, which has been jolted by massive antigovernment protests.
At the morning close, the 225-issue Nikkei average stood down 126.60 points, or 1.22 pct, at 10,233.74. On Friday, the key market gauge fell 118.32 points.
The TOPIX index of all first-section issues was down 10.37 points, or 1.13 pct, at 909.32, after losing 9.97 points the previous market day.
The market came under heavy selling in early morning following a plunge in U.S. shares on Friday.
"Investor sentiment was damaged by the growing geopolitical risk" stemming from the unrest in Egypt, Toshiyuki Kanayama, market analyst at Monex Inc.'s Financial Intelligence Department, said.
Tokyo stocks were also pressured by the yen's rise against the dollar, brokers said. The dollar was trading below 82.50 yen, down from 82.63-66 yen at 5 p.m. Friday.
Against this backdrop, the market appears to be testing its downside, Kanayama said.

Technical charts indicate that the key Nikkei average is moving downward, Kanayama added.
Still, Tokyo stocks resisted falling further as investors refrained from active selling, waiting to see earnings reports to be released by major Japanese companies this week, brokers said.
"The market's downside was shored up by buying on dips, mainly by individual investors," Kenichi Hirano, operating officer of Tachibana Securities Co., said. "Many investors apparently believe that the market is expected to turn upward on hopes for corporate earnings improvement."
Losers overwhelmed winners 1,260 to 293 on the TSE's first section in the morning, while 111 issues were unchanged.
Half-day volume came to 933 million shares.

Hit by the yen's advance, export-oriented issues such as automakers Toyota and Honda were weak. Nissan fell 2.24 pct.
High-tech makers Hitachi, Toshiba, Canon and Sony were also sluggish, along with chip-related issues Elpida Memory, Advantest and Tokyo Electron.
Fujitsu plunged 6.97 pct after revising down Friday its group earnings projections for the year to March. It now expects a net profit of 75 billion yen, down 21.1 pct from its previous forecast.
Other major loses included megabanks Mitsubishi UFJ, Mizuho and Sumitomo Mitsui.
By contrast, oil developers Inpex and Japan Petroleum Exploration gained ground.
Shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines held firm, as did utilities Tokyo Electric Power and Chubu Electric Power.