Japan sharply lower on yen's rise
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Stocks in Japan closed low on Friday as a technical correction to the market's recent sharp rise.
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HONG KONG, China -- Markets in Japan and South Korea began trade in negative territory Monday, dragged down by blue chip exporters.
The Tokyo Nikkei is two percent lower, led by auto giant Honda Motor Co Ltd and other exporters due to a plunge in the dollar to a two and a half year low against the yen.
Shares of Toyota and Sony are down sharply despite a report showing Japan's trade surplus jumped a better than expected 23.1 percent in August from a year earlier to just over $7 billion.
The yen rose as high as 111.37 to the dollar in early trade, up more than two percent from Friday due to speculation Japan may stop trying to hold down the yen after a weekend Group of Seven statement called for flexible currency regimes.
The Yen's strength is raising investor concerns about exporter profits when they are repatriated into yen.
South Korea's Kospi is also lower following selling in exporters Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor.
