Nikkei Falls Faster On European Debt Worries

TOKYO (NQN)--Tokyo stocks were widening their losses midway through the morning session Wednesday, with the Nikkei Stock Average briefly sliding more than 100 points to fall below 11,300.

Investors continue to sell blue-chip exporters on lingering concerns about the European sovereign debt crisis following a general election in Italy. Intermittent selling of stock index futures is also weighing on investor sentiment.

Italy's election ended inconclusively, making it difficult for any party to form a stable government. That pushed European bourses lower across the board. Investors' risk-averse stance caused yields on Italian bonds to surge, pushing down Italy's FTSE MIB Index by more than 5% at one point.

The yen is slightly lower than it was Tuesday, but the currency's downward momentum has been easing, following the meeting of finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 nations, prompting investors to refrain from buying blue-chip exporters, said an official at a domestic brokerage.

Toyota Motor Corp. (7203), Nissan Motor Co. (7201) and Komatsu Ltd. (6301) are all down, while domestically focused stocks, including construction firms, utilities and property developers, are rising.

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