DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
TOKYO -- Tokyo stocks ended sharply lower yet again Tuesday, as geopolitical fears and concerns about the falling market's impact on Japan's fragile financial system prompted further selling.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average closed under the 8000-mark, falling 179.83 points, or 2.2%, to 7862.43 -- the lowest finish since January 1983. It was the sixth straight session of declines for the key index.
The Topix index of all the Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section issues fell 13.90 points, or 1.8%, to 770.62, the lowest close since August 1984.
On the TSE's First Section, 966 issues fell, 419 issues rose, and 133 were unchanged from Monday.
The slumping stock market rekindled worries about Japan's financial system. At current index levels, major banks' latent stock losses appear to have ballooned to around ¥6 trillion ($51.2 million or ?46.5 million), and most major life insurers are also seen to have heavy losses, analysts said.
Among banks, Sumitomo Mitsui sank 12% to a new all-time low of ¥206,000. Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial set a new all-time low of ¥438,000, although it managed to end up 0.2% at ¥453,000.
And with the dollar continuing to trade below ¥117 for most of the Tokyo trading day, exporter stocks were hit as well. Among them Sony dropped 2.9% to ¥4,080 and Sharp tumbled 4.0% to ¥1,200.
Even some bargain-hunting and suspected public-fund buying couldn't offset selling interest Tuesday, amid a lack of fundamental reasons to buy, said Hiroichi Nishi, deputy general manager at Nikko Cordial Securities Co.
Market participants will continue nervously monitoring government talk about supporting the market, and global tensions over Iraq and North Korea, while the Nikkei 225 may find technical support in the 7800s after recent steep falls, Mr. Nishi said.
Investors seemed unimpressed with either the Bank of Japan's move Tuesday morning to inject an extra ¥1 trillion in liquidity into the money market, or the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's call on the government to temporarily suspend mark-to-market accounting rules.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi again vowed to prevent plunging stocks prices and geopolitical uncertainties from causing a financial crisis, but ruled out changing accounting rules as one way to do so.
Mr. Koizumi said he ordered Economy and Banking Minister Heizo Takenaka to ensure that a financial crisis will not occur, even when faced with "unexpected developments."