Japan Stocks Slump as Lehman Sparks Credit Concerns; Sony Falls

By Patrick Rial

Sept. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks slumped after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.'s inability to raise capital stoked concern financial market turmoil will linger.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., Japan's third-largest listed bank, lost 2.9 percent. Sony Corp. sank 2.5 percent after the yen rallied against the dollar and euro, reducing the value of overseas sales. Trading house Mitsubishi Corp. was poised to fall after Brent crude oil dropped below $100 a barrel.

``The mood in the market is getting worse and we could be pushing toward some new lows today,'' Hiroichi Nishi, an equities manager at Nikko Cordial Securities Inc., said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. ``Financial and energy related-shares led the drop in the U.S. with oil taking a dive, and that pattern looks to be repeated here today.''

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 189,92, or 1.5 percent, to 12,210.73 as of 9:08 a.m. in Tokyo. The broader Topix index slid 17.25, or 1.5 percent, to 1,174.34.

Lehman dropped a record 45 percent yesterday to near a 10- year low after talks to sell a stake to Korea Development Bank broke down. The company said after the close of trading it will announce third-quarter results and ``key strategic initiatives'' later today. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index declined 3.4 percent.

To contact the reporter for this story: Patrick Rial in Tokyo at prial@bloomberg.net.