Reply #2: Nikkei slips 1.8 percent on exporters, techs, Asia [View All]

[Ghost Dog]

Mon Sep 1, 2008 2:44am EDT

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"Things in the tech market are likely to get pretty tough and this will have to be taken into account in terms of plans for the future, but it's still too early to say anything for sure," said Tomomi Yamashita, a fund manager at Shinkin Asset Management.

"At the very least, tech shares are being sold right now based on the U.S. and the global economy."

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The benchmark Nikkei shed 238.69 points, completely erasing last week's gains, to finish at 12,834.18. The broader Topix lost 1.9 percent to 1,230.64.

Losses picked up speed in the afternoon as Asian shares fell more sharply, with the MSCI index of Asian stocks outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS down 2.4 percent by 0607 GMT.

Market players said bargain-hunting had emerged at the lows to stem the slide, but with a lack of buying incentives or substantial investor presence, rises were impossible.

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Exporters slipped as the dollar fell against the yen, fetching around 108.53 yen <JPY=>.

Honda lost 3.4 percent to 3,460 yen, becoming the biggest drag on the Nikkei 225 by volume weight. Toyota Motor Co (7203.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) lost 2.2 percent to 4,820 yen.

"Basically autos are a sector that people probably want to lighten up on, given the economic outlook," said Shinkin's Yamashita.

Toyota last week cut its 2009 vehicle sales forecast by nearly 7 percent, hit by high fuel demand, a move that highlighted an increasingly difficult environment.

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Banks were down as well, weighing on the Topix in particular, though losses were limited by a lack of Japan-specific factors, market players said.

"Basically, worries are starting to emerge about U.S. bank results, which are set to start being released in a couple of weeks, and this makes it hard for investors to reach out their hand for bank shares," said Noritsugu Hirakawa, a strategist at Okasan Securities.

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Trade was thin, with 1.3 billion shares changing hands compared with last week's daily average of 1.4 billion. Declining shares outpaced advancing ones by nearly 8 to 1. <-- Not so very thin, then.

/... http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idCAT9119820080901?rpc=44&sp=true