Japan’s stocks close down by 1.04%

The key Nikkei stock index hit a fresh five-month closing low on Monday as investors were discouraged by the yen’s appreciation to a fresh record high against the US dollar late last week amid uncertainty about the health of the US economy. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average dropped 91.11 points, or 1.04%, from Friday to 8,628.13, its lowest finish since March 15. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was down 8.85 points, or 1.18%, to 742.84, Japan’s news agency (Kyodo) reported. Nearly all 33 sectors on the TSE fell, with the mining sector leading decliners, followed by the rubber products and transport equipment sectors. The pulp and paper, and electricity and gas sectors were the only gainers. Shares in major carmakers such as Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co fell as the yen was still hovering around the upper-76-yen range to the dollar. Toyota dropped 2.46% and Honda declined 2.54%. Both carmakers renewed their lowest share price this year.