Japanese stocks fell sharply Thursday, with the benchmark Nikkei index closing under 10,000 for the first time in three weeks, according to AP. The Nikkei 225 stock average fell 183.95 points, or 1.8 percent, to 9,891.10, dragged by weakness in global stock markets and falling commodities prices. The broader Topix index lost 0.7 percent to 882.26. Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrials lost 1.2 percent amid signs of a weaker U.S. housing market and a gloomier economic outlook from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The government"s report on third-quarter GDP is due Thursday. Benchmark crude for December delivery fell $2.09 to settle at $77.46 on Wednesday in New York amid uncertainty about a recovery in oil demand. Disappointing earnings added to the selling mood, pummeling individual issues like NEC Electronics Corp. NEC Electronics plunged 8.3 percent to 688 yen after the chipmaker said late Wednesday that it expects a wider net loss for the full fiscal year through March 2010. It now forecasts a net loss of 55 billion yen compared with its previous projection for a 9 billion yen loss. Also losing ground was Advantest Corp., which shed 6.6 percent to 145 yen. The maker of semiconductor testing equipment said Wednesday it booked a 7 billion yen ($77.4 million) net loss for the April-September half amid falling sales. Advantest President Haruno Matsuno said he expects improving demand to help his company to return to the black in the January-March quarter. «However, even assuming it did turn a profit, the level of profit would be low and insufficient to justify the current share price, in our view,» said Deutshe Securities analyst Yoshikazu Higurashi, who has given a «sell» rating on the issue. In currencies, the dollar rose to 90.70 yen from 90.64 yen late Wednesday. The euro rose to $1.4755 from $1.4714. --SPA
