• Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei index plunged nearly 2.5% on Thursday, extending a rout on Wall Street.
• The Nikkei 225 index fell 2.49% to end at 27 448.01, its lowest closing figure since early January.
• Japanese shares opened sharply lower and extended falls throughout the day after inflation fears routed Wall Street equities, brokers say.

Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei index plunged nearly 2.5% on Thursday, extending a rout on Wall Street as US inflation data fuelled worries about a sudden shift in monetary policy.

The Nikkei 225 index fell 2.49%, or 699.50 points to end at 27 448.01, its lowest closing figure since early January.

The broader Topix index dropped 1.54%, or 28.91 points, to 1 849.04.

Japanese shares opened sharply lower and extended falls throughout the day after inflation fears routed Wall Street equities, brokers said.

A bigger-than-expected hike of 4.2% in consumer prices last month compared to April 2020 caused the Dow to close two percent lower amid concerns the Federal Reserve will end its easy money policies sooner than planned.

"Japanese shares simply trailed the plunge in US shares," Yoshihiro Okumura of Chibagin Asset Management told AFP.

"Bargain-hunting can emerge at this level of the Nikkei but investors remained nervous" and hesitated to buy on dips, Okumura said.

"Trading is expected to remain volatile and cautious for now," he added.

The dollar fetched 109.65 yen in Asian afternoon trade, compared with 109.63 yen in New York.

In Tokyo, SoftBank Group dropped 7.76% to 8 467 yen even as it reported the best ever annual net profit for a Japanese company.

NEC plummeted 14.04% to 5 140 yen after it forecast a sharp profit decline for the current fiscal year.

Toyota was down 1.53% at 8 392 yen but Nissan rose 0.55% to 523.4 yen after it lost around 10% the previous day.

E-commerce firm Rakuten slid 3.64% to 1 243 yen. Following the closing bell, the firm said it trimmed its quarterly loss.

Source: News24