Tokyo stocks fell back during the morning session, with the Nikkei Average trading more than ¥630 lower. Profit-taking selling spread amid concerns over the Middle East situation in the United States and higher crude oil prices.
The Nikkei Average fell sharply shortly after trading began at around 10 a.m., and the decline widened toward the end of the morning session. The index was sharply lower than the previous day, closing more than ¥630 down. The Nikkei Average closed at ¥68,326.72, down ¥630.00 from the previous day, after opening the morning session at ¥68,313.46. Concerns over the outlook for the Middle East and another rise in crude oil prices weighed on share prices.
TOPIX fell sharply, with sector indexes for securities and commodity futures, transportation equipment, information and communications, and other sectors declining. Overall trading volume was 1.11559 billion shares, and trading value was ¥4.0987 trillion. 85% of stocks declined and 13% advanced.