Nikkei 225 crashes down in Japan

Japans Nikkei 225 plunged seeing its biggest weekly fall in more than 50 years, as investors fear company failures amid the deepening global credit crunch. The decline prompted a suspension in future trading.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 9.6 percent or 881.08 to 8,276.43 at close in Tokyo with the broader Topix Index losing 7.4 percent or 64.25 closing at 840.86. This week being Japans steepest declines in stocks in over 35 years.

Mitsubishi UF J Financial Group Inc tumbled 8.5 percent, as Japanese banks took a battering after Moody’s Investors Service said it may cut Morgan Stanley’s credit rating. Japans biggest publicly traded life insurer T&D Holdings slumped 11 percent after news that an insurer and real-estate investment trust filed for bankruptcy protection. Also Japanese property developer Mitsubishi Estate Co. retreated 8.1 percent.

Source: Bloomberg