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| - Tokyo stocks plunged more than seven percent Friday after a rout on global equity markets on mounting recession fears after the US banned travel from Europe over the coronavirus outbreak. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index dropped 7.12 percent or 1,322.15 points to 17,237.48 in early trade, while the broader Topix index fell 6.31 percent or 83.73 points to 1,244.15. "Japanese shares are dropping sharply, extending plunges on global bourses," Okasan Online Securities chief strategist Yoshihiro Ito said in a commentary, adding the Nikkei index could dip to the 17,000 level. US President Donald Trump's comments suggesting delaying the Tokyo Olympics because of the coronavirus outbreak were also weighing on the market, analysts said. On Wall Street, the Dow lost 10 percent, dropping around 2,350 points to 21,200.62 in its worst session since 1987. US stocks were deep in the red the entire session, which was paused for 15 minutes early in the day after the S&P 500's losses hit seven percent, triggering an automatic suspension. The dollar fetched 105.02 yen in early Asian trade, against 104.79 yen in New York on Thursday. In Tokyo, shares were sharply lower across the board, with Toyota dipping 5.99 percent to 5,931 yen, game giant Nintendo trading down 4.88 percent at 33,120 yen, and telecom and investment titan SoftBank Group down 7.97 percent at 3,648 yen. Banks were also lower, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial down 6.07 percent at 393 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial down 4.95 percent at 2,656 yen. kh/ric/jah
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