Japanese stocks fall at the start of the week amid fears of a slowing US economy

Japanese stocks fell at the start of trading this week, recording their largest decline in four months, amid growing concerns about a slowing US economy.

According to the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index ended today’s session down 1.25%, or 508.90 points, to close at 40,290.70, after falling more than 900 points, or about 2.2%, at one point in early trading today, falling below 40,000 points for the first time in about two weeks.

The broader Topix index closed down 1.10%, or 32.45 points, to close at 2,916.20. On the exchange rate front, the US currency rose against its Japanese counterpart by 0.32% to 147.85 yen in morning trading, while the yield on 10-year Japanese government bonds fell by more than 4.5 basis points to 1.507%.