Tokyo shares open lower on fresh nuclear fears

March 29, 2011 | 09:56

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Tokyo stocks opened lower on Tuesday, with fresh concerns over the unresolved crisis at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant weighing on sentiment, dealers said.

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The detection of plutonium at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, which was crippled by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and a devastating tsunami on March 11, raised new worries over the suspected partial meltdown of fuel rods.

The Nikkei 225 index was down 129.01 points, or 1.36 per cent, to 9,349.52 in early trade. The Topix index fell 11.31 points, or 1.32 per cent, to 846.54.

However, dealers said that the latest development was unlikely to trigger panic selling.

"Although the plutonium news is undoubtedly bad, the known contamination points are still within (the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant) compound, so the market is unlikely to react dramatically," said Kazuhiro Takahashi, general manager of equity marketing at Daiwa Securities.

The dollar fetched 81.70 yen, up from 81.69 yen in New York overnight. The Japanese unit was at 115.03 to the euro, from 115.22 yen.

TEPCO shares were at 636 yen, less than a third of their value before the crisis having fallen to more than a 30-year low on Monday.

The Japanese government is considering temporarily nationalizing troubled utility Tokyo Electric Power Co. to facilitate its reconstruction, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported in its Tuesday morning edition.

AFP

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