Japan's Nikkei falls for seventh day as yen's rally bites
Updates with price levels as of 0600 GMT
By Brigid Riley
TOKYO, Sept 11 (Reuters) -Japan's Nikkei share average fell for a seventh straight session amid widespread losses on Wednesday, as the yen's rally to its strongest against the dollar this year weighed.
The Nikkei .N225 closed down 1.5% at 35,619.77, after slumping over 2% to brush near Monday's one-month intraday low of 35,247.87. The broader Topix .TOPX fell 1.8% to end the session at 2,530.67.
The dollar dropped as much as 1.24% to 140.71 yen JPY=EBS, a level not seen since Dec. 28, before trading at 141.16 yen as of 0547 GMT, following the U.S. presidential debate and remarks by Bank of Japan board member Junko Nakagawa.FRX/
A stronger yen tends to hurt exporter shares as it decreases the value of overseas profits in yen terms when firms repatriate them to Japan.
Shares of exporters slid, with the underperformance of automakers standing out. Toyota Motor 7203.T stumbled 3.1%, while Subaru Corp 7270.T declined over 4% and Honda Motor 7267.T slid 3%.
Losses broadened in afternoon trade, with 211 of the Nikkei's 225 constituents ending in the red as sentiment deteriorated. Two shares were untraded.
"There could be a psychological element, a kind of anxiety where selling leads to more selling," said Maki Sawada, an equities strategist at Nomura Securities.
Investors remain sensitive to big moves after last month's market, she said, which saw the benchmark Nikkei shed 12.4% in its worst single-day plunge since 1987 BlackMonday.
Energy-related shares also saw some of the largest losses after oil prices hit their lowest in three years on Tuesday on demand concerns. Tokyo Gas 9531.T fell 5.6%, while Osaka Gas 9532.T lost 5.1% to land among the top percentage losers on the Nikkei.
Analysts saw a limited direct impact on Japanese equities from the debatebetween Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Among other shares, Nikkeiheavyweight Fast Retailing 9983.T slid 1.7%, while shares of major chip-related Advantest 6857.T was down 2.3%. Fellow chip-related shareTokyo Electron 8035.T tumbled 0.2%.
Tech and entertainment conglomerate Sony Group 6758.T edged down 0.3%.
Reporting by Brigid Riley; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Eileen Soreng
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