Japan's Nikkei 225 on Thursday ended the first quarter as one of the worst-performing stock indices globally, dropping nearly 12 percent since January when global markets were pulverised by an eye-watering sell-off. Plunging oil prices, worries about China's economy - a key driver of global growth - and Tokyo's faltering attempts to reboot Japan's economy all helped send the market into a tailspin. A stronger yen, which hurts the profitability of Japanese exporters, also weighed on Tokyo-listed shares.
"The Japanese economy and Abenomics are approaching a crucial stage," Hikaru Sato, senior technical analyst at Daiwa Securities, told AFP, referring to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's growth plan. "If the Abe administration fails to win market support this time, the downside risks are only going to increase."
The Bank of Japan on Friday releases it closely watched Tankan business confidence survey. The Nikkei ended the quarter down 11.95 percent, while the broader Topix index of all first-section shares was off nearly 13 percent. Among major markets, the fall in Japanese equities was outpaced only by a 15 percent drop in Shanghai. Most key US and European indices were on track to end in the red on the last trading day of the quarter.
On Thursday, Tokyo shares ended lower for a third straight session, as Sharp tumbled on news its take-over by Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision would go ahead at a massively reduced price. The stock ended 4.44 percent lower at 129 yen after news Wednesday that Hon Hai, better known as Foxconn, will take over the Japanese electronics maker for 389 billion yen ($3.5 billion).
The price tag was substantially less than the 489 billion yen Foxconn put on the table when the deal was first announced in February. The take-over ran into trouble over claims Sharp had not disclosed certain liabilities. The Nikkei slipped 0.71 percent, or 120.29 points, to close at 16,758.67 and the Topix fell 0.67 percent, or 9.09 points, to 1,347.20.
In other share trading Thursday, auto parts supplier Takata rose a day after losing nearly a fifth of its market value. The firm denied a report Wednesday that said its recall costs could soar as high as $24 billion owing to a global airbag crisis linked to at least 10 deaths. Its shares finished 5.79 percent higher at 438 yen. Banking giant Mitsubishi UFJ bounced back from two days of losses to sit 1.81 percent higher at 521.5 yen while rival Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group gained 1.91 percent to 3,412 yen.
Toshiba soared 5.79 percent to 219 yen after saying Wednesday that China's Midea Group will buy a little more than 80 percent of the conglomerate's home appliances arm for $473 million. Toshiba, hammered by an embarrassing accounting scandal, is undergoing a wide-ranging restructuring that has included asset sales.
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