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TOKYO, JAPAN- Japanese share prices retreated on Monday, pushed back by worries about weak corporate earnings and a stronger yen. The benchmark Nikkei-225 index dropped 272.13 points, or 3.0 percent, to end at 8,809.30. The Topix index of all first section issues fell 27.29 points, or 2.98 percent, to 889.36.
The market was in limbo, said Kazuhiro Takahashi, general manager at Daiwa Securities SMBC.
"Buying will emerge if market players pin high hopes on economic stimulus (packages). Selling will prevail if they put more weight on the real economy," he said.
Sentiment was depressed by a big loss at insurance giant AIG, the bankruptcy of US electronics retailer Circuit City and an analyst's warning that shares in General Motors could be worthless with a year.
Investors were also unsettled by news that the economic crisis had pushed 1,429 companies in Japan into bankruptcy in October, the most so far this year.
Corporate bankruptcies soared 13.4 percent from a year earlier as companies struggled to raise funds amid the global credit crunch, according to a survey by Tokyo Shoko Research.
"Investors will probably sell global cyclical shares and seek a safe haven in defensive shares for a while," Eiji Kinouchi, senior strategist at Daiwa Institute of Research, told Dow Jones Newswires.
Worries about General Motors' problems weighed on Japanese automakers, whose profits are being squeezed by a stronger yen and a weak global economy.
Toyota Motor fell 4.9 percent to 3,300 yen. Honda Motor lost 5.3 percent to 2,240 yen and Nissan Motor shed 3.6 percent to 424 yen.
The bankruptcy of Circuit City sparked selling of Japanese electronics makers. Canon declined 8.4 percent to 3,150 yen and Nikon lost 9.6 percent to 1,164 yen.
The dollar was at 97.95 yen in late Tokyo trade, down from 97.99 in New York on Monday, as worries mounted about the health of corporate America. The euro dropped to 124.64 yen from 125.06.
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