Japanese Stocks Plunge Into Bear Market as Global Rout Deepens
Bloomberg - Jan 20, 2016
Japanese stocks plunged into a bear market amid a slump in equities across Asia as investor concerns over the global economic outlook outweighed technical signs that a China-fueled rout has gone too far.
The Topix index sank 3.7 percent to 1,338.97 at the close in Tokyo, taking its loss since a high on Aug. 10 to 21 percent. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 3.7 percent to 16,416.19, also down 21 percent from its recent peak on June 24. Concern over China’s ability to manage a transition to more sustainable growth has driven down global equities in 2016. The International Monetary Fund cut its world expansion outlook.
“Everything is falling,†said Tsutomu Yamada, a market analyst at Kabu.com Securities Co. in Tokyo. “It’s difficult for the market to rebound unless oil or something else truly hits bottom. Whether it’s oil, the dollar-yen, U.S. shares, Hong Kong or Shanghai shares -- something has to rebound.â€
The Nikkei 225 last entered a bear market in June 2013, after plunging 20 percent in less than a month. The gauge soon rebounded, rallying 31 percent from its low on June 13, 2013, through the end of that year.
