Japan's Nikkei 225 declines on investor fears about Europe's downgrading

© Scanpix/AFP

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average lost 1.39% or 120.82 points on Tuesday and closed at 8,575.16 amid worries created by Standard & Poor's that European countries may face downgrading. Most Japanese financials weighted down on the index as Nomura Holdings Inc. and Mizuho Financial Group Inc. both traded down 1.9%. Metal-sector companies also contributed to Nikkei 225 depreciation as Sumitomo Metal Mining declined 1.8% while JFE Holdings Inc. dropped 4.1%. On the upside was Olympus Corp. with a gain of 9.07%.