Tokyo stocks plummeted on Tuesday, with the Nikkei index ending down more than 700 points, as soft domestic and Chinese indicators and tumbling Shanghai stocks triggered a selloff driven by uncertainty about global growth prospects.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended down 724.79 points, or 3.84 percent, from Monday at 18,165.69. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange finished 58.94 points, or 3.83 percent, lower at 1,478.11.
Every industry category on the main section lost ground, with pharmaceuticals, precision instruments and utilities leading decliners.
Stocks opened lower before extending their losses as investors absorbed Japanese and Chinese data released during the morning and watched the Shanghai Composite index plunge soon after opening.
Selling spiraled in the afternoon as the Nikkei fell through technical resistance points, said Chihiro Ota, general manager of investment research at SMBC Nikko Securities Inc.
Capital spending by Japanese firms rose 5.6 percent year-on-year in the April-June quarter, falling below market forecasts of an 8.8 percent increase, brokers said.
