By Shinichi Saoshiro
TOKYO, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Japanese shares slid to a nine-day
low on Thursday morning as investor sentiment was battered by a
big slide on Wall Street amid resurgent fears of a global
recession.
The Nikkei share average .N225 was down 1.3% at 20,387.17
as of 0157 GMT. The index touched 20,184.85, its lowest since
Aug. 6.
All three major U.S. indexes closed down about 3% on
Wednesday, with the blue-chip Dow .DJI posting its biggest
one-day point drop since October, after the U.S. Treasury yield
curve temporarily inverted for the first time in 12 years
-considered a classic recession signal. .N
Shares of Japanese exporters retreated as the safe-haven yen
JPY= strengthened against the dollar due to the widespread
risk aversion.
Toyota Motor Corp 7203.T fell 1.1%, Honda Motor Co
7267.T dropped 1.4%, Panasonic 6752.T shed 2% and
Bridgestone Corp 5108.T was down 1.7%.
Financial institutions also took a hit, as the sharp drop in
bond yields was seen hurting their profitability. Mitsubishi UFJ
Financial Group 8306.T lost 1.1%, Mizuho Financial Group
8411.T retreated 0.9% and Dai-ichi Life Holdings 8750.T sank
2%.
The broader Topix .TOPX was down 1.31% at 1,479.94.
Declining shares outnumbered gainers by 1,994 to 120.
All of Tokyo's 33 sub-indexes were in the red, with oil and
coal products .IPETE.T and mining .IMING.T the biggest
losers.
(Editing by Richard Borsuk)