Nikkei tumbles 3 percent as oil talks stall, quake woes increase

Tokyo stocks tumbled from the bell on Monday as investor sentiment was soured by the recent earthquake disasters in Japan's southwest and stalled negotiations in Doha on a production halt by major producers of oil.

As of 9:15a.m., the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average plummeted 505.83 points, or 3.00 percent, from Friday to 16,342.20.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, tumbled 40.97 points, or 3.01 percent, to 1,320.43.

All industry categories retreated into negative territory, with mining, insurance and transportation equipment-linked issues comprising notable losers in early trade. Endit