Nikkei's six-day rally ended as index falls 1.2%

After six consecutive days of improvements in the closing figures of the Nikkei 225 Stock Average, those on free stock market courses saw the index fall 1.2 per cent by the end of trading yesterday (September 1st).

It finished the day at 8,950.74, after passing the 9,000-point barrier at the start of September.

Among the major firms to register drops yesterday were Sony Corp and Mizuho Financial Group, which fell by 4.3 per cent and 2.6 per cent respectively.

Some experts attributed the dip to the release of a report indicating a slowing in the growth of employment opportunities in the US, which adds weight to the view that the recovery of the country's economy is faltering.

Juichi Wako, senior strategist at Nomura Holdings, told Bloomberg: "As people cut their forecasts for the jobs data, it's difficult for investors to take a position one way or the other."

Reuters suggested that the improvements seen towards the end of August could be in part attributed to the release of Chinese manufacturing data.

Posted by Greg Secker