Tokyo stocks plunged Wednesday morning, with the Nikkei index briefly losing over 2 percent, after stronger-than-expected U.S. job openings data fueled concern over further interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.
On the currency market, the U.S. dollar was off from a one-year high above the 150 yen line overnight, after it plunged to as low as 147.30 yen in a suspected yen-buying intervention by Japanese authorities.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average fell 603.05 points, or 1.93 percent, from Tuesday to 30,634.89. The broader Topix index was down 45.71 points, or 2.01 percent, at 2,229.76.
On the top-tier Prime Market, decliners were led by transportation equipment, electric power and gas, and wholesale trade issues.
