While Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump neared an agreement on a U.S.-Japan trade deal over the weekend, it wasn¡¯t enough to quell market anxiety over the U.S.-China trade war Monday, when key Tokyo stock indexes plummeted and the yen at one point rose to its highest level against the dollar this year.
The 225-issue Nikkei average, which plunged more than 500 points at one point, ended down 449.87 points, or 2.17 percent, at 20,261.04 on Monday. The Topix, which covers all first-section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, dropped 24.22 points to 1,478.03.
The yen, seen as safe in times of volatility, sharply appreciated, even breaking the ?105 threshold to hit ?104.50 against the dollar early Monday morning. The currency was trading at ?105.73 against the dollar as of 5 p.m. in Tokyo trading.
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