HONG KONG (Dow Jones)–Asian shares tumbled Tuesday as Tokyo’s stock benchmark plunged 11% on panic selling amid worries that a possible nuclear catastrophe in Japan would further complicate and endanger the nation’s recovery from its worst earthquake on record.
The Nikkei Stock Average finished 11% lower at 8,605.15 after sliding more than 14% earlier in the day, pressured by news of explosions at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s (9501.TO) Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant’s No. 2 and No. 4 reactors, on top of previous blasts at the Nos. 1 and 3 reactors.
Coming on top of a 6.2% fall Monday, the performance is the Nikkei’s worst since its Oct. 16, 2008, drop of 11.4%, in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.
“What the world is watching right now is whether Tepco’s Fukushima nuclear power plant is going to turn into Chernobyl,” said Norihiro Fujito, senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities, referring to the world’s worst nuclear disaster at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in 1986 in present-day Ukraine.
Full Story: UPDATE: Asian Shares End Down;Nikkei Drops 11% As Nuclear Fears Grow – WSJ.com