Tokyo stocks falls below 9,400

Tokyo stocks closed the morning session lower Wednesday, falling into the seventh straight trading day in response to overnight slides in US and European stocks due to Europe's debt issue and global economic concerns. The Nikkei Stock Average declined 92.92 points, or 0.97%, to 9,445.10. The benchmark index briefly fell to 9,395, sinking below 9,400 for the first time since Feb. 17, when it logged 9,369. The decline came after the Dow Jones industrial average logged its sharpest fall of the year overnight. The dollar's slide to the mid-80 yen level also weighed on Japanese stocks. Also pushing down the Nikkei average were slides in Toyota Motor Corp. (7203) and other leading exporters. But the index trimmed its losses toward the end of morning trade, supported by the release by the Cabinet Office before the bell of better-than-expected machinery orders for February, which underscored a steady recovery in corporate production activity. Higher Shanghai stocks also helped the index. The trading value on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange came to 578.1 billion yen, with 930.99 million shares changing hands. On the first section, 1,290 issues fell while 264 rose and 108 were unchanged.