Tokyo Stocks Fell to Lowest Level Since June

Tokyo stocks fell early today to their lowest level since late June, as selling on Wall Street and in many other markets last week weighed on investor sentiment in Japan. The Nikkei-225 index ended the morning session down 210.84 points, or 1.4%, at 14,913.09--the first drop below the 15,000 mark since June 26. The yen, however, was little changed from Friday’s level of 146.35 to the dollar. In other Asian trading early today, stocks continued to slide in Malaysia, Taiwan and Singapore. Hong Kong’s market was closed for a holiday. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average ended last week at 8,425.00, a 2% drop for the week. Traders are anxious to see whether bargain hunters will enter the market soon, with the Dow off nearly 10% from its July 17 record high.