TOKYO, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks closed sharply lower on Monday, with the benchmark Nikkei index briefly plunging more than 5 percent, as crude oil futures soared amid dim prospects for a ceasefire between the United States and Iran.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended down 1,487.22 points, or 2.79 percent, from Friday at 51,885.85. The broader Topix index finished 107.35 points, or 2.94 percent, lower at 3,542.34.
On the top-tier Prime Market, notable decliners included securities house, transportation equipment, and glass and ceramics product issues.
Analysts said the stock market took a hit after benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures surged above 100 U.S. dollars per barrel in early Asian hours, stoking fears of accelerating inflation.
Worries over inflation also triggered bond selling, sending the benchmark 10-year government bond yield to 2.39 percent at one point, the highest since February 1999.
Stocks pared their losses in the afternoon after WTI crude oil futures edged lower, although they remained above 100 U.S. dollars per barrel.
Analysts said the market would continue to be closely tied to developments in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar topped the 160 yen line, seen as a key psychological barrier, for the first time since July 2024 on Friday in New York, driven by safe-haven buying.
The U.S. currency then weakened to the upper 159 yen range on Monday in Tokyo after Atsushi Mimura, Japan's vice finance minister for international affairs, issued a verbal warning about the yen's decline and signaled the possibility of government intervention. ■
