Asian share markets fell Monday, pressured by last week’s disappointing U.S. economic data, while Tokyo Electric Power Co. shares plunged after a report that the firm is facing a massive fiscal-year loss.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 average dropped 111.86 points, or 1.2%, to 9,380.35
Notable movers on Monday included Tokyo Electric Power Co., or Tepco, which plunged 27.6%, going limit-down after Kyodo News reported that the firm will post a 570-billion-yen ($7.1 billion U.S.) net loss in fiscal 2012, excluding compensation payments for the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
According to the report, the losses will be made as fuel costs expand by ¥830 billion for the firm, given the closure of the Fukushima Daiichi power station and a switch to thermal power.
Other power companies were also lower in Tokyo, with Kansai Electric Power Co down 8.9%, and Chubu Electric Power Co. falling 8.9%.
Banks also weakened, as investors fretted about exposure to Tepco debt, with Mizuho Financial Group Inc. down 0.8%, and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. down 1.9%.
In the technology sector, Sony Corp. shares were down 3.2% after news of a cyber-attack on its European website, extending recent losses made in the wake of earlier hacking incidents that resulted in data breaches.
Nintendo Co. shares shares traded down 1% after the firm said that it too suffered a cyber-attack on its network but that the hackers hadn’t obtained customer data
Australian mining companies, which are leveraged to economic growth, were weaker in Sydney after the U.S. jobs data, with heavyweights Rio Tinto Ltd. and BHP Billiton Ltd. each down 0.5%.
In other markets;
Markets in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Korea, Taiwan and New Zealand had the day off
Singapore’s Straits Times Index shed 31.94 points, or 1%, to 3,113.73
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dipped 14 points, or 0.3%, to 4,569.10
