In the morning session of the Tokyo Stock Exchange on the 2nd, the Nikkei 225 Stock Average crashed by over 2,000 yen at one point, dropping below the 37,000 yen mark to the 36,100 yen range. The US market on the 1st fell as weak economic statistics led to widespread concerns about an economic slowdown, and this trend spread to the Tokyo market as well. On the 1st, it also fell by over 1,300 yen at one point, making it a consecutive day of sharp declines. In the foreign exchange market, the yen strengthened against the dollar, leading to selling of a wide range of stocks, especially export-related stocks, resulting in an across-the-board decline. Semiconductor-related stocks, which have a large impact on the average stock price, also pushed down the market.

This was the biggest intraday drop this year. It was the first time in about three and a half months since April 19 that the average stock price fell below 37,000 yen during trading hours. It also hit the lowest level since February.

The morning closing price was 36,261.85 yen, down 1,864.48 yen from the previous day’s closing price. The Tokyo Stock Price Index (TOPIX) was down 126.18 points to 2,577.51.