Matsushita Stock Falls Amid Handset Defect

Matsushita Communication Industrial Co. shares fell as much as 6.4% after NTT DoCoMo Inc. found defects in 100,000 mobile phones, marking the second trouble in five months with Panasonic handsets.

The shares fell to their lowest intraday level since Oct. 16, 1998. The stock is the worst performer on the Nikkei 225 index so far this year, falling about 67% since Jan. 1. Shares of DoCoMo also dropped as much as 2.4%.

The phones, which are compatible with Sun Microsystems Inc.’s Java computer language, contain a flaw in the way the central processing unit processes radio waves from base stations, causing delays in voice transmissions, DoCoMo said. The defect is the second problem with the P503i model.