March 21st, 2011 
admin 
On the first business day after an earthquake and tsunami of epic proportions caused tens of billions of dollars in damage and lay waste to cities along the northeast coast, the Tokyo stock market spiraled downward Monday and other Asian markets were mostly down.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average fell 453 points, or 4.5 percent, to 9,789.55.
From in.finance.yahoo.com:
Industrial and materials companies rose on expectations that they will benefit from Japan’s rebuilding efforts. Japanese construction company Kajima Corp. soared 37 percent; Nishimatsu Construction Co. Ltd. got a 22 percent boost.
Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 0.7 percent to 23,085.15; South Korea’s Kospi index was down 0.4 percent to 1,946.80. Shares in mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand also were lower.
The Bank of Japan injected a record 7 trillion yen ($85.5 billion) into money markets to try to defend the already fragile economy. By flooding the banking system with cash, the central bank hopes banks will continue lending money and meet the likely surge in demand for post-earthquake funds.
A one-day policy meeting of the central bank is scheduled for later Monday.
The prospect of falling oil demand from Japan sent crude oil prices down $1.26 to $99.9 a barrel. In addition to the earthquake, oil prices fell after a scheduled day of protests in Saudi Arabia only drew a few hundred people. Oil traders have been worried the violence in the Middle East and North Africa would spread to the world’s No. 1 oil exporter.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 59.79 points, or 0.5 percent, to 12,044.40. The S&P 500 rose 9.17, or 0.7 percent, to 1,304.28. The NASDAQ composite gained 14.59, or 0.5 percent, to 2,715.61.
Posted in 
Tags: 
[...] Minister Naoto Kan said on Sunday that Japan was currently facing its worst crisis since World War [...]