Nikkei dives to lowest close in six months

Asian markets fell today (April 11th) as technology stocks were damaged by falls within the sector's major shares in the US and elsewhere around the world.

The Nikkei lost 2.4 per cent of its value to end the week at 13,960, which is its the lowest close in six months. Fast Retailing was among the major drops on the index, with shares in the company falling by around seven per cent during the session.

Problems were not constrained to the Nikkei though, as China's Shanghai Composite index fell by 0.6 per cent as shares in Tencent, China's biggest internet company, lost four per cent.

Japan's chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga admitted that the country's government keeps a close eye on the main Asian stock markets, reports BBC News.

He said: "In regards to the recent stock movements, I understand that the weak financial results of several US companies, as well as the cooled-down investor sentiment, have driven the stock prices down."

US losses

Today's drops for major Asian markets such as the Nikkei and the Shanghai Composite come after the big losses sustained in the US last night, where the Dow Jones fell by 1.6 per cent and the S&P lost more than two per cent.

It was the worst day on the Nasdaq stock exchange since November 2011 as the value of the market plunged by 130 points – or three per cent – after investors sold off biotech shares.

Shares in eBay were down by around three per cent on the back of the news billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who is a major shareholder in the online auction company, has backed down on his plans to split eBay and payment processing firm PayPal.

In London, the FTSE 100 has been affected by the falls on the major global stock markets, with the index also down for the day today. By 13:42 BST, the index was down by more than 85 points, slipping back by 1.28 per cent compared to the start of the day.

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