Japan stocks flat amid jitters over subprime loan woes

TOKYO: Nipponese pillory finished level Wednesday as concerns over subprime loans and foreign exchange rates continued to coerce fiscal pillory and car makers.

The Nikkei 225 benchmark stock index closed at 15,900.64 points on the Tokio Stock Exchange on Wednesday, down 0.70 point, negligible as a percentage, from Tuesday. The index rose 1.07 percentage Tuesday.

"People are cautious about purchasing pillory as the planetary marketplaces stand up on rickety ground, but you won't happen too many better modern times than now to begin buying" and gear wheel up for net income chances in the future, said Teruhisa Ishikawa, trading information director with Mizuho Investors Securities.

Among the decliners were Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, which lost 1.8 percentage to 1.08 million hankering (US$9,438; €6,986.97), and Nisan Motor Co., which cast 1.5 percentage to 1,107 hankering (US$9.67; €7.16).

Some electronics pillory rose on deal hunting. Mitsubishi Electric gained 3.1 percentage to 1,281 hankering (US$11.19; €8.28). Sharp added 2.3 percentage to 2,005 hankering (US$17.52; €12.97). Today in Business

Wednesday trade largely lacked direction. The Depository Financial Institution of Japanese Islands began a two-day meeting Wednesday but outlooks for an involvement charge per unit tramp have diminished amid concerns over the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis, which sent planetary stock marketplaces nose-diving last week.

Traders also reacted small to an early proclamation by the Finance Ministry that Japan's trade excess drop 21.1 percentage in July on year. It was the first diminution in nine months.

The broader Topix index of all shares on the exchange's first subdivision cast 4.99 points, or 0.32 percent, to 1,544.89 points Wednesday. The Topix rose 1.7 percent, Tuesday.

In currencies, the dollar was trading at 114.42 hankering at 2:50 p.m. (0550 GMT) Wednesday, down from 114.44 hankering late Tuesday in New York. The Euro rose to US$1.3484 from US$1.3468.