P.M. BRIEFING : Nikkei Stocks Take 3rd-Biggest Single-Day Dive: More Than 3%

The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s key index fell more than 3% today in its third-biggest single-day dive ever and worst since the worldwide stock market crash in October, 1987.

Traders blamed heavy computer-guided selling by foreign brokerage firms for the decline and said there was no panic selling.

Amid concerns about possible interest rate increases, the index had already fallen nearly 565 points in the previous two trading days.

The Nikkei Stock Average of 225 selected issues, the most widely followed index on the exchange, fell 1,161.19 points, or 3.15%, closing at 35,734.33.

It was the index’s sharpest decline since a plunge of 1,203.23 on Oct. 23, 1987, after a round-the-world stock market crash. The largest single-day plunge in Tokyo was 3,836.48 points Oct. 20, 1987.

With most investors on the sidelines today, the analysts said, a lack of buy orders allowed the index to fall sharply. They said market sentiment was not necessarily as pessimistic as the plunge indicated.