Markets fall

Press, 22 January 1988, Page 22

Markets fall

NZPA Tokyo Share prices closed sharply lower oh thin trade on concern about possible selling by fund and special money trusts and margin calls ahead of the fiscal year end on March 31. Brokers said there was also concern about the U.S. dollar’s sharp fall to below 127 yen yesterday. On the Tokyo foreign exchange market, the dollar closed at 126.80 yen, down 1.98 yen from Wednesday’s close of 128.78 yen. The U.S. currency opened at 127.15 yen. The 225-share Nikkei Stock Average, which posted a 55.03-point loss on Wednesday, finished at 22,710.26 points, down 132.88 points. In New York on Wednesday (early yesterday N.Z. time) the stock market fell sharply to a new low for 1988 as a barrage of selling hit

many of the high-technology issues. The U.S. dollar lost ground in foreign exchange markets around the world. Analysts also said stocks in general continued to suffer from a steep drop in technology issues, which are a popular place for investors to seek profits in the market from growth and innovation. The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials fell 57.20 points to finish at 1,879.14, its lowest close since it stood at 1,867.04 on December 11. In London shares stood above their lows in late trading with few features emerging to provide direction, dealers said. The FTSE 100 index reached a low for the day of 1,748.8 at 2.42 p.m. after the New York market showed an early drop of nearly 18 points, but later recovered with Wall Street.