Japan Shares Slide After U.S. Jobs Data as Exporters Fall on Yen

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Japanese stocks fell after data showed the weakest U.S. employment growth in more than a year, sending the yen higher and spurring declines in the nation’s exporters.

The Topix index lost 0.7 percent to 1,552.48 as of 9:00 a.m. in Tokyo after advancing 0.7 percent last week. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average retreated 0.7 percent to 19,291.05. The yen added 0.1 percent to 118.84 per dollar after strengthening 0.6 percent Friday as the jobs report showed employers added 126,000 workers in March, the fewest since December 2013.

The 126,000 increase in jobs was weaker than the most pessimistic forecast in a Bloomberg survey and followed a 264,000 gain a month earlier that was smaller than initially reported, the Labor Department said. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists was for a 245,000 advance.

Source : Bloomberg