Nikkei: 9,620.49 (–633.94) Hang Seng: 23,345.88 (+96.10) Shanghai Comp: 2,938.91 (+5.11): JAPANESE STOCKS fell 7.5 per cent yesterday as investors expected the earthquake and tsunami to take an economic toll and require heavy government borrowing.
Japanese car makers, electronics firms and oil refiners saw their share prices drop by double-digit percentages at one point after having to shut key factories after Friday’s disaster.
Technology companies such as Kyocera and Canon were among the biggest drags on the market. Shares of Tokyo Electric Power, Japan’s biggest utility that owns a nuclear plant that may be close to meltdown, ended at 1,621 yen, down 23.6 per cent.
Construction businesses rallied on the back of expectations for demand from rebuilding efforts. Kajima jumping 22.2 per cent to 259 yen, and Taiheiyo Cement climbing 21.2 per cent to 137 yen.
Hong Kong and China shares edged higher. Shares of Chinese coal and steel firms outperformed in Hong Kong, with investors betting that blasts at Japanese nuclear plants would force it to burn more fossil fuel.
In Hong Kong, Angang Steel rose 4.8 per cent. Baoshan Iron and Steel closed up 2.1 per cent in Shanghai. – (Reuters)
