The Nikkei 225 was down around ¥290 in the morning session. Although it briefly rebounded, selling remained dominant and the index again came under pressure toward the close of the session. Selling was initially triggered by declines in US stock-index futures and concern over PHP vulnerabilities.
The Nikkei 225 traded around ¥290 below the previous day's close in the morning session. It briefly fell to ¥351.53 below the previous day's close during the 10:00 a.m. hour. Concern over PHP vulnerabilities affecting websites worldwide and declines in US stock-index futures in after-hours trading prompted initial selling.
By sector, 16 of the 33 sectors declined. Metal products, glass and ceramics, banks, securities and oil and coal products fell, while services and precision instruments remained firm. Although many investment-target stocks were notably lower, certain issues showed relative strength.
In the Tokyo foreign-exchange market, dollar-yen traded in the low ¥158s and euro-yen in the mid-¥177s. The yen-denominated Nikkei 225 futures settlement price, which had been ¥235 above the Osaka Exchange settlement price, fluctuated in response to overnight and overseas market movements.
Among individual stocks, nonferrous-metal names Mitsui Kinzoku, Furukawa Electric, NGK and Tokushu Toa declined. Metal-products and financial stocks including Mitsubishi UFJ, Sumitomo Mitsui, SUMCO and Nippon Seiko also remained weak. Some chemical and textile stocks were soft, while services stocks such as OLE and names including Terumo and HOYA traded firmly.