Tokyo Prices Plunge in Mideast Jitters

Uncertainty over developments in the Middle East sent stock prices plunging today and nudged the dollar up slightly against the yen in Tokyo, traders said.

The 225-share Nikkei Stock Average ended the day at 27,549.76, down 562.68 points, or 2%, from its closing Wednesday. It had gained 1,439.59 points, or 5.4%, Wednesday in its third-largest single-day surge.

Traders had attributed Wednesday’s gain to optimism over news that King Hussein of Jordan was traveling to Washington with an undisclosed message from Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein for President Bush.

“Yesterday, people became hopeful about the Hussein-Bush meeting, but today, nothing new came out about it,” said Hiroshi Arano, an analyst for Nippon Kangyo Kakumaru Securities. When he spoke, the two leaders had not yet met.