Nintendo slumps most since '90 on dashed Pokemon Go hopes

Tokyo

NINTENDO CO shares plunged by the most since 1990 after the company said late last Friday that the financial impact from the worldwide hit Pokemon Go will be limited.

The stock sank 18 per cent to 23,220 yen at the close in Tokyo on Monday, the maximum one-day move allowed by the exchange, wiping out 708 billion yen (S$9 billion) in market value. After debuting in the US earlier this month, Pokemon Go launched in Japan last Friday and became available in Hong Kong on Monday.

The correction comes after Pokemon Go's release almost doubled Nintendo's stock till Friday's close, adding US$17.6 billion in market capitalisation. Nintendo is a shareholder in the game's developer Niantic Inc and Pokemon Co, but has an "effective economic stake" of just 13 per cent in the app, according to an estimate by Macquarie Securities anal…