Japanese stocks fell Friday with exporters under pressure on the back of a strong yen, and sentiment weak amid concerns about a possible downgrade of British government debt that sent Wall Street lower, AP reported. The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average lost 38.34 points, or 0.4 percent, to 9,225.81. The broader Topix index declined 0.6 percent to 875.88. «Investors sold export-linked shares due to a sharp rise in the yen. Sentiment was already sluggish following overnight losses on Wall Street, and the yen factor added more pressure on the market,» said Yutaka Miura, senior analyst Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. The yen stood at 94.24 to the dollar in Tokyo Friday afternoon. A strong yen hurts Japanese exporters as it erodes their dollar income from abroad. Investors were also jittery after credit ratings firm Standard & Poor's said Thursday it has revised Britain's outlook to negative from stable. The negative outlook means Britain's credit rating may be downgraded if its public finances do not improve and suggests other big economies could face similar warnings. Toyota Motor Corp. fell 2.2 percent to 3,570 yen. But Honda Motor Co. rose 2.5 percent to 2,710 yen. Panasonic Corp. slipped 0.6 percent to 1,324 yen. Sony Corp. shed 2.0 percent to 2,450 yen. Japan's top chipmaker Toshiba Corp. was also down 1.2 percent at 338 yen. In currencies, the euro stood at $1.3916 from $1.3929.
