Japan stock market week to Sept 22, 2008

Tokyo retreated marginally in the week to September 22. The Nikkei 225 edged down 1.0%, closing slightly above the 12,000 level, while the Topix index lost 0.7%. A series of shock waves, including the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and the merger of Merrill Lynch with Bank of America, caused the Tokyo market to plummet on the first day. Equities showed a modest recovery on the next, helped by the news that the US Federal Reserve had decided to rescue the troubled American International Insurance. Additionally, investors were relieved by the news toward the weekend regarding the possible establishment by the US government of an agency to handle mortgage-backed securities of financial institutions to assist them to improve balance sheets. The pharmaceutical index fell 4.3%, underperforming the market.