Tokyo stocks end down in largest fall in nearly 2 months

Tokyo stocks closed down Wednesday, with the Nikkei Stock Average dropping 314.23 points to end the day at 14,170.49. The benchmark index briefly moved in positive territory in early trading. But selling soon took over, fueled by the dollar's steady movements at lower levels against the yen on the back of uncertainty over US debt issues, according to the (Nikkei.com) website. After the Japanese government decided the previous day to go ahead with the consumption tax hike and other economic measures, investors increasingly shared the view that all recent trading cues had been exhausted. In the afternoon, hedge funds likely placed large sell orders for Nikkei Stock Average futures. The Nikkei average lost further ground through arbitrage trading between cash stocks and futures. Declines in gold prices provided a selling incentive for nonferrous metals stocks. Trading value on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange was 2.4 trillion yen on a preliminary basis.