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TOKYO - Japan's Nikkei average slid on Friday to mark its ninthstraight week of losses, the longest such run in 20 years, afterdisappointing Chinese and US data deepened fears of a globalslowdown in the throes of Europe's debt crisis. Exporters were hurt by a double whammy of data suggesting slowingdemand for their products and a strong yen, which rocketed to an11-1/2 year high against the euro and stayed firm against thedollar as investors flocked to buy the safe-haven currency. "The problem is that although Japanese stocks are technically cheapaccording to historical barometers, the market has always movedmore on foreign factors than domestic ones," said Yutaka Miura,senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities. Canon Inc, Mazda Motor Corp, Nissan Motor Co and Sony Corp lostbetween 3 and 4 per cent. Stocks with high exposure to China sagged after its officialpurchasing index (PMI) fell to a year-to-date low of 50.4 in May,the latest indicator of slowing growth in the world'ssecond-largest economy. The figure came in well under the consensus of 52.2 expected byeconomists polled by Reuters, and down from 53.3 in April. Komatsu Ltd dropped 4.3 per cent and Hitachi Construction MachineryCo Ltd lost 4.2 per cent. The Nikkei fell 1.2 and was down 1.6 per cent on the week. On Thursday it logged a drop of 10.3 per cent in May, its worstmonthly performance in two years, dogged by signs of slowing growthand shrinking global demand. It has fallen 17.7 per cent since hitting a one-year high on March27. Investors sought refuge in defensives, with telecoms firmsbenefiting. NTT DoCoMo put on 3 per cent, while KDDI Corp gained1.4 per cent and Softbank Corp added 1.1 per cent. Yahoo Japan fell 3 per cent after Barclays Capital said it facesslowing growth after years of steady profit expansion, and its"prospects remain unclear" despite a new management team bent onemphasising its youth. The broader Topix lost 1.5 per cent and the index ended down 1.8per cent on the week, on track for a ninth straight week of lossesto mark its worst weekly losing streak since 1975. "Many investors are watching the timing to enter the market.However, as long as the knife is falling, nobody can catch it,"saidRyota Sakagami, chief strategist in equity research at SMBC NikkoSecurities. "The current problem is the tail risk from Europe .. However,(it's) different from last year," he said, adding that the USeconomy was in better shape, but that investors had highexpectations for its performance. Yet the market was weighed on by US data released overnight thatshowed an increase in jobless claims for the seventh week in eightand lower economic growth in the first quarter than expected. Investors were also waiting for payrolls data later on Friday, witheconomists polled by Reuters expecting unemployment to remain at8.1 per cent. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as Portable Shoe Dryer , Cool Warm Mist Humidifier Manufacturer for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Usb Ionic Air Purifier.
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