The yen sharply rose and Tokyo stocks plunged Tuesday as market participants were surprised by a Bank of Japan decision that they saw as monetary tightening following a decade of ultraloose policy under the current governor.
The Japanese currency strengthened by around 4 yen versus the U.S. dollar to trade at the lower 133 level and the benchmark Nikkei stock index briefly fell nearly 3 percent, shortly after the central bank decided to allow long-term government bond yields to trade in a wider range.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended down 669.61 points, or 2.46 percent, from Monday at 26,568.03. The broader Topix index finished 29.82 points, or 1.54 percent, lower at 1,905.59.
On the top-tier Prime Market, real estate, precision instrument, and transportation equipment issues drove the decline.
