Japanese stocks drop to 2-month low

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TOKYO — Japanese stocks dropped for a seventh day to a two-month low on Friday as sentiment turned downbeat on an overnight tumble on Wall Street and skyrocketing global oil prices.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 277.96 points, or 2.01 percent, to 13,544.36, the lowest finish since late April.

"Selling spread across the board following yesterday's fall in the U.S. stock market," said Kazuhiro Takahashi, equity strategist at Daiwa Securities SMBC Co. Ltd.

The Dow Jones industrial average plunged more than 3 percent Thursday as investors fretted over towering oil prices, which spiked to a record above $140 a barrel.

"Uncertainty over the direction of oil prices and ongoing fears over inflation continued to depress sentiment," Takahashi said.

Among losers, Japan's top automaker, Toyota Motor Corp., fell 1.9 percent to 5,070 yen. Its rival, Honda Motor Co., lost 2.7 percent to 3,650 yen.

Sony Corp. dropped 4.3 percent to 4,840 yen.

Japan's top oil refiner Nippon Oil Corp. also shed 3.1 percent to 664 yen.

The Topix index of all Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section issues fell 24.11 points, or 1.79 percent, to 1,320.68.

In currency trading, the dollar stood at 106.86 mid-afternoon in Tokyo, little changed from 106.88 yen in New York late Thursday. The euro stood at $1.5742 in mid-afternoon in Tokyo, compared with $1.5752 in New York.

The greenback stood at 1.3641 Singapore dollars, and 33.51 Thai baht.

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