OVERSEAS : Tokyo Stocks Halt Slide; Nikkei Ends Morning Session Up 8.94

Prices on the sagging Japanese stock market were little changed at the end of today’s morning session.

The 225-share Nikkei stock index gained 8.94 points, or 0.03% to end the session at 32,629.51. The index had fallen more than 1,300 points Monday and Tuesday and had been down nearly 100 points just after the opening today.

“The index made nervous ups and downs due to intermittent sellings from foreign arbitragers, but it eventually recovered as market players were generally reassured by the yen’s recovery,” said Yoshio Shimoyama, senior dealer with Nikko Securities.

The yen rose during the morning session to 152.03 to the dollar from 152.67 at Tuesday’s close.

Tokyo’s nervous stock market has retreated more than 16% since the beginning of 1990 and analysts saw no early end to the year’s pullback.

“The market is starting to look desperate,” said Setsuo Watanuki, a trader at Toyo Securities.

The Nikkei dropped 747.66 points Tuesday after tumbling 624.89 Monday. Tuesday’s fall was its ninth-biggest one-day drop.