Asian Markets at Close Report and U.S. Stock Market Indications - December 16, 2014: Japan stocks slide to six-week low as yen advances /Japan stocks slide to six-week low as yen advances
Japan stocks slide to six-week low as yen advances By LAURA HE ASIA MARKETS REPORTER HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Japan stocks continued to slide on Tuesday, falling to their lowest settlement in more than six weeks, as the yen headed higher against the greenback. The Nikkei Average NIK, -2.01% tumbled 2% to 16,755.32, marking its lowest closing level since the end of October. The broader Topix index I0000, +0.03% declined 1.9%. Meanwhile, the yen USDJPY, -1.35% a traditional safe-haven currency, traded substantially higher against the dollar at ¥117.30 from ¥117.82 a day earlier, as risk-aversion rose on the back of plunging crude-oil prices . Among market movers, electronics giant NEC Corp. 6701, -4.58% sank 4.6%, console maker Nintendo Co., Ltd. 7974, -3.96% skidded 4%, industrial-robot manufacturer Fanuc Corporation 6954, -2.98% dropped 3%, and electronics maker Fujitsu Ltd. 6702, -2.85% gave up 2.9%. Other major Asian markets mostly