Tokyo: Nikkei plunges more than 2% on China debt crisis fears

[TOKYO] Tokyo's key Nikkei 225 index plunged more than two per cent at the open on Tuesday, extending Wall Street falls on contagion fears from the expected collapse of debt-plagued Chinese property giant Evergrande.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index dived 2.07 per cent or 630.51 points to 29,869.54 in early trade, while the broader Topix index fell 2.21 per cent or 46.36 points to 2,053.81.

"The Japanese market, which was closed on Monday, is expected to be dominated by sell-orders with investors discouraged by the global market rout over the financial crisis at China's Evergrande," senior strategist Yoshihiro Ito of Okasan Online Securities said in a note.

"The market will continue to be volatile, with trading volume already expected to shrink" ahead of the US Federal Reserve's meeting this week, he added.

The dollar fetched 109.45 yen in early trade, against 109.38 yen in New York.

On Wall Street, the Dow ended down 1.8 per cent at 33,970.47, the broad-based S&P finished down 1.7 per cent and the tech-rich Nasdaq fell 2.2 per cent.

AFP