Tokyo - Japan's benchmark Nikkei index lost 4 per cent by the close of morning trading Thursday after Wall Street plummeted overnight and the Japanese government's machinery orders for November showed the largest decline on record. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped 335.68 points to 8,102.77, and the broader Topix index of all First Section issues was also down 20.15 points, or 2.46 per cent, to 799.24.
Japan's core machinery orders posted a record monthly decline in November, the Cabinet Office said Thursday.
The key private-sector orders fell a seasonally adjusted 16.2 per cent from October as rapidly worsening global economic conditions dampened corporate appetite for investment, the government said.
On the currency markets at 9 am (0000 GMT), the dollar was quoted at 89.13-18 yen, down from Wednesday's 5 pm quote of 89.77-79 yen.
The euro was quoted at 1.3213-18 dollars, down from Wednesday's 5 pm quote of 1.3311-13 dollars, and at 117.78-83 yen, down from 119.50-54 yen.
