Rising U.S. Dollar Contributes to Japan Stock Drop

The relentless rise of the dollar against the Japanese yen, coupled with weakening bond prices, sent the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Nikkei Average to its lowest level in a year today in extremely thin trading.

The blue-chip Nikkei Average of 225 selected issues, which fell 624.89 points Monday to wipe out gains from a two-day rally, plunged another 747.66 points, or 2.2%, to 32,620.57.

It was the ninth worst daily decline on record for the bellwether Nikkei Average and its lowest close since March 28, 1989, when it finished at 32,306.36.

The dollar closed at 152.62 yen, up 0.62 from Monday’s close on the Tokyo Foreign Exchange.

A trader for Nomura Securities said, “individual investors who had buoyed prices late last week evacuated the market again today.”

Declining stock prices largely followed the flagging yen and sagging bond prices, dealers said.