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CORRECTED - Nikkei down 0.6 pct, China economy worries weigh

Tue Aug 12, 2008 10:55am IST
 
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(Corrects figure in headline to 0.6 percent instead of 0.3)

TOKYO (Reuters) - The Nikkei average fell 0.6 percent on Tuesday as Nippon Steel and other stocks seen linked to growth in emerging economies tumbled on concern about slowing growth in China.

But automakers such as Honda Motor Co held firm on a softer yen and investors picked up banks such as Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group which had recently been sold off, limiting losses for the broad-based Topix index.

China's main stock index tumbled more than 5 percent to a fresh 19-month low on Monday, hit by concern about slowing economic growth and rising producer price inflation, which threatens to squeeze corporate profit margins.

"There's a concern about the economy, not only in China but also in other emerging countries," said Yoshinori Nagano, chief strategist at Daiwa Asset Management.

"I'm not sure if the end of the Olympics will have anything to do with it, but investors are certainly concerned about the tumble in stock prices," he said.

But he added that as a whole investors are taking a wait-and-see stance on whether U.S. stocks will continue to rebound and Chinese stocks will stop falling.

As of 0456 GMT, the benchmark Nikkei shed 85.86 points to 13,345.05, after rising 2 percent the previous day.

The broader Topix was 0.1 percent lower at 1,278.49   Continued...

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