Roundup: Nikkei plummets 4.05 pct following global equities rout

Tokyo stocks plummeted Tuesday, with the Nikkei index falling 4.05 percent to a more than 8-month closing low as a drop in commodity prices and a global equities rout was extended further, fueled by concerns over China's economic situation.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average lost 714.27 points from Monday to close the day at 16,930.84, while the broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell 63.15 points, or 4.39 percent, to end at 1,375.52.

Tuesday's sell-off was prompted in early trade with investor sentiment dashed by major bourses in Europe and the U.S. seeing equities lose ground overnight, with the knock-on effect causing Asian indices to mirror such losses, with market analysts saying the market mood was largely due to concerns about the outlook for China's economy.

The fears stemmed from data released Monday by China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showing that Chinese industrial companies' profits declined the most in four years.

Industrial profits, according to the data, retreated 8.8 percent in August from a year earlier, compared to a 2.9 percent retreat logged in July, the statistics bureau said, with the decline, markedly in coal, oil and metals fields, marking the biggest fall since October 2011.

"The slowdown in China is spreading to other Asian economies, Brazil and Australia, and weakness in emerging countries could echo throughout the overall world economy," said SMBC Friend Securities' chief strategist Toshihiko Matsuno.

Nonferrous metal-related issues comprised today's biggest decliners, following Glencore PLC's shares tumbling by almost 30 percent overnight in London on concerns the Anglo-Swiss multinational commodity trading and mining company's future may be impeded by declining demand from China.

Energy exploration giant Inpex relinquished 4.86 percent to finish at 1,028 yen, while other China-linked firms also lost ground, with industrial robotics maker Fanuc losing 3.8 percent to close the day at 17,965 yen.

Currency trading also impacted some issues Tuesday, as the U.S. dollar dropping to 119.45 yen in Tokyo from 119.93 yen in New York caused exporters to take a hit as they rely on a weak yen to boost their competitiveness and profitability in overseas markets.

Hence, consumer electronics behemoth Sony tumbled more than 8 percent to close at 2,753 yen, while automaker Nissan skidded down 4.77 percent to finish the day at 1,036 yen.

Among individual share moves, Mitsui fell 9.54 percent to 1,312 yen, following an investigation by Swiss regulators into price fixing allegations, Hitachi lost 3.88 percent to 592 yen after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission found it had made illegal payments connected to a power plant deal to South Africa's ruling ANC party, and shares of Mitsui O.S.K. fell 7.4 per cent to 288 yen following news of Daiichi Chuo Kisen Kaisha's bankruptcy. Mitsui O.S.K. hold a 21.8 percent stake in the bankrupt company.

Trading volume on Tuesday rose to 2.79 billion shares on the Tokyo Exchange's First Section, up from Monday's volume of 1.93 billion shares, with declining issues outpacing advancing ones by 1,815 to 61. Endi