Japanese earthquake shakes markets

(Reuters): Japanese stocks suffered their biggest slide since the 2008 financial crisis Monday, with investors eyeing a further drop as the uncertainty over the country’s nuclear crisis compounds worries that the quake and tsunami will cause deeper economic pain than initially thought. The TOPIX tumbled 7.5 percent on record trading volume as investors bailed out of big blue-chip companies seen taking a hit from the need for rolling electricity blackouts on top of the disruptions to supply chains following the massive quake. With Monday’s selloff, the market capitalisation of shares on the Tokyo stock exchange’s first section fell by roughly $286 billion — greater than the size of Finland’s economy.

Analysts said the risk was for a further drop in shares as investors come to terms with the fast-rising economic toll from Japan’s worst crisis since World War Two.

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