Nikkei feels the effect of global tech-stock slump

The Tokyo stock exchange is continuing to feel the impact of the global downturn in technology shares, due in part to the failing fortunes of its favourite sons, Canon, Fujitsu and NEC.

The Nikkei index fell by 0.31 per cent to 14,619 by 04:45(GMT), held down by political upheaval in the US and Japan and poor performance by US IT companies. Canon shares fell by 4.1 per cent while NEC dropped by 3.2 per cent and Fujitsu by 1.5 per cent. According to traders, Hewlett Packard's disappointing earnings have fuelled fears of a global slowdown in PC demand. Japanese shares could get a boost or a knock depending on the performance of mobile telecoms company NTT DoCoMo, due to report interim results later today. By Candice Goodwin