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Japan stocks sag on dismal US jobless data
TOKYO - Japanese stocks fell for a third straight day Friday, dragged down by renewed pessimism over a recovery in the global economy following dismal U.S. employment report.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average shed 60.08 points, or 0.61 percent, to 9,816.07. In the morning session, the index lost more than 100 points. During the week, the Nikkei lost 0.6 percent.
The broader Topix index slipped 0.37 percent Friday to 920.62.
"The worse-than-expected U.S. jobless data really dampened sentiment and sparked fresh worries over an economic recovery," said Masatoshi Sato, market analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities Co.
The Labor Department said Thursday U.S. employers slashed 467,000 jobs in June, far worse than the 363,000 that economists expected. The U.S. jobless rate rose to 9.5 percent in June from 9.4 percent in May.
Wall Street tumbled on the news, with the Dow Jones industrial sinking 2.6 percent Thursday to 8,280.74, the lowest close since May 22. U.S. markets will be closed Friday for Independence Day.
"Although investors agree the worst of the current recession is over, they are worried an economic recovery is going to be very slow," Sato said.
Investors also stayed on the sidelines ahead of the July 8-10 summit of the G-8 industrialized nations. But Sato said market players expected few concrete steps on the global economy at the summit as the world leaders are likely to focus on issues like climate change, Iran's postelection turmoil and North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.
Toyota Motor Corp. rose 0.8 percent to 3,640 yen. Honda Motor Co., Japan's No. 2 carmaker, was up 1.3 percent at 2,620 yen.
Sony Corp. dipped 1 percent to 2,440 yen. Japanese game maker Nintendo Co. fell 1.1 percent to 26,230 yen.
In currencies, the dollar rose to 96.00 yen from 95.92 yen late Thursday in New York. The euro stood at $1.4006 from $1.3951.
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