Reuters: Financial Services and Real Estate: Nikkei hits 3-month low after France, Greece polls

Reuters: Financial Services and Real Estate Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Nikkei hits 3-month low after France, Greece polls May 7th 2012, 01:44 Sun May 6, 2012 9:44pm EDT * Nikkei sheds 2.6 pct on euro zone worries, U.S. jobs * Strengthening yen weighs on exporters * Gree, DeNA sink on report of possible regulatory clampdown TOKYO, May 7 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average shed 2.6 percent to hit a three-month low on Monday after elections in France and Greece raised concerns on whether struggling euro zone economies will continue to pursue austerity measures and as U.S. jobs data came in weaker than expected. "It's red all over the place. It's pretty bad," a trader at a U.S. bank said, adding that concerns over the euro zone and slowing growth in the United States triggered yen buying, which further weighed on Japanese exporters. The Nikkei was down 242.08 points at 9,138.17, breaking below its 52-week moving average near 9,158 but holding a b ove i t s 200-day moving average near 9,066. Among exporters, Honda Motor Co dropped 4.6 percent, Toyota Motor Corp shed 3 percent and Sony Corp fell 3.9 percent. Financials also suffered as investors cut their exposure to risky assets. Nomura Holdings, Japan's top investment bank, sank 6.4 percent, insurer Tokio Marine Holdings dropped 3.9 percent and lender Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group lost 2.9 percent. Greek voters enraged by economic hardship caused by the terms of an international bailout turned on ruling parties in an election on Sunday, putting the country's future in the euro zone at risk and threatening to revive Europe's debt crisis. In France, voters ousted incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy, a key architect of bailouts for indebted countries and an advocate of austerity measures, in a presidential election on Sunday, and winner Francois Hollande promised to start a pushback against German-led austerity policies. Adding to the political uncertainty in Europe, U.S. employers cut back on hiring in April, spurring concerns the world's largest economy is losing momentum. Shun Maruyama, Chief Japan equity strategist at BNP Paribas, said he expected Japanese equities to rally in June or July, however, led by short-covering, after a correction in May. He said the short-selling ratio of 25.5 percent in April was approaching the critical point of 28-30 percent, suggesting investors are more likely to cover their bearish bets. The broader Topix lost 2.4 percent to 773.61 on Monday. Mobile social gaming companies Gree Inc and DeNA Co Ltd both shed more than 20 percent after a media report that Japan's consumer agency may clamp down on online games that have gambling aspects. (Reporting by Dominic Lau; Editing by Joseph Radford) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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