Tokyo stocks fall to 4.5-month low

Tokyo stocks continued to fall Thursday, sending a key index to the lowest closing level in four and half months following sell-offs in New York and Europe and due to the stronger yen.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) lost 335.14 points, or 2.22 percent, from Wednesday to 14,738.38, its lowest finish since May 30. The broader Tokyo Stock Price Index, which includes all shares on the TSE's first section, was also down 28.17 points, or 2.30 percent, to 1,195.50. In New York on Wednesday, the Dow fell 1.06 percent, the S&P 500 slid 0.81 percent and the Nasdaq shed 0.28 percent, due to worries over the global economy and the Ebola epidemic. Shares in Britain, France and Germany also ended lower.
The yen's strength against the dollar also prompted investors to sell export-oriented issues, as the stronger yen cuts the value of Japanese exporters' overseas sales when converted back into local currency. In the currency markets, at 4:50 p.m. (0750 GMT), the US dollar traded at JPY 105.89-92 versus JPY 105.85-95 in New York and JPY 107.22-23 in Tokyo at 5 p.m. Wednesday.