Tokyo stocks dropped Thursday morning as investor sentiment was hurt by sharp falls overnight on Wall Street, with the Nikkei briefly sliding below the 28,000 threshold for the first time in two weeks.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average lost 312.15 points, or 1.09 percent, from Wednesday to 28,323.06. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was down 16.07 points, or 0.86 percent, at 1,844.00.

Decliners were led by information and communication, precision instrument and real estate issues.

The U.S. dollar was firm in the lower 104 yen range as falls in New York and Tokyo shares prompted traders to hold the U.S. currency, seen as a safe haven, in cash, dealers said.

At noon, the dollar fetched 104.32-33 yen compared with 104.05-15 yen in New York and 103.67-69 yen in Tokyo at 5 p.m. Wednesday.

The euro was quoted at $1.2094-2095 and 126.17-21 yen against $1.2108-2118 and 126.02-12 yen in New York and $1.2154-2156 and 126.00-04 yen in Tokyo late Wednesday afternoon.

Shares sank in early trading, with the Nikkei briefly shedding more than 650 points, the biggest intraday drop in seven months, to fall below 28,000 for the first time since Jan. 12.

The market was pulled down mainly by selling in stocks related to semiconductors and high technology companies that had led recent rallies to send the Nikkei to 30-year highs, brokers said.

"The level of the Nikkei has risen, so a fall of about 1 percent is a healthy correction in a higher zone," said Yoshinori Ogawa, senior general manager of the Investment Strategy Department at Okasan Securities Co.

The index trimmed losses toward the end of the morning session, as investors bought shares of companies reporting upbeat earnings, the brokers said.

On the First Section, declining issues outnumbered advancers 1,278 to 783, while 127 ended the morning unchanged.

Electronic device maker Alps Alpine sagged 55 yen, or 3.5 percent, to 1,525 yen, chip-testing device maker Advantest fell 290 yen, or 3.3 percent, to 8,540 yen and semiconductor equipment maker Tokyo Electron lost 1,030 yen, or 2.3 percent, to 42,870 yen.

Bucking the downward trend, industry robot maker Fanuc climbed 475 yen, or 1.7 percent, to 28,275 yen after it revised upward on Wednesday its earnings forecast for the year through March partly due to the robust demand in their products related to electric vehicles.

==Kyodo

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