TOKYO, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks closed sharply lower Monday as investor sentiment was dented by rising tensions surrounding Ukraine and Russia and surging U.S. consumer prices.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average tumbled 616.49 points, or 2.23 percent, from Thursday to close at 27,079.59. Markets here were closed Friday for a national holiday.
The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, dropped 31.96 points, or 1.63 percent, to finish at 1,930.65.
Dealers here said trading got off to a downbeat start following losses late last week on Wall Street, particularly technology shares, following U.S. consumer prices rocketing 7.5 percent on year to mark the largest annual rise in inflation in 40 years.
The rise in consumer prices added to market convictions the Fed will likely take aggressive steps regarding tightening its monetary policy, as the 7.5 percent rise far exceeded median market expectations for consumer prices to increase by 7.2 percent, they added.
Adding to market woes Monday, brokers said, were deepening tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine.
"Because the market was closed in Japan on Friday, today's market was hit by two separate negative news that happened last week -- tensions surrounding Ukraine and Russia, and the sharp rise in U.S. consumer prices," Shuji Hosoi, a senior strategist at Daiwa Securities, was quoted as saying.
"If the Ukraine situation gets worse, the market could fall further," Hosoi said.
Other strategists underscored market concerns about U.S. inflation and the Fed's possible reaction, as well as how this could play into materials costs and the knock-on effect this could have on the global economy.
"Both the January U.S. consumer price index as well as growing tensions in Ukraine deepened concerns about inflation and how a rise in raw material costs may adversely impact the global economy," Shingo Ide, chief equity strategist at NLI Research Institute, said.
By the close of play, rubber product, precision instrument and electric appliance-related issues comprised those that declined the most, and falling issues outpaced rising ones by 1,606 to 507 on the First Section, while 69 ended the day unchanged.
Heavily-weighted Fast Retailing, owner of the Uniqlo chain of casual clothing stores, weighed on the broader market, dropping 3.1 percent, while fellow heavyweight SoftBank Group slumped 3.9 percent by the close.
Geopolitical concerns sent oil prices surging to seven-year highs on concerns over supply disruptions, which hurt rubber product-oriented issues, with Toyo Tire reversing 6.6 percent, while Bridgestone skidded down 8.9 percent by the close.
Energy issues were among the top gainers however, with exploration giant Inpex climbing 6.6 percent, while Japan Petroleum Exploration soared 6.9 percent. Refiner Idemitsu Kosan, meanwhile, closed out 3.3 percent higher.
On the main section on Monday, 1,379.81 million shares changed hands, dropping from Thursday's volume of 1,396.24 million shares.
The turnover on the first trading day of the week came to 3,199.20 billion yen (27.76 billion U.S. dollars). ■