Nikkei falls to lowest level since April 2009

The Nikkei average fell more than 1.5 percent to its lowest intraday level since April 2009 on Thursday, hurt by a worrying German bond sale and expectations that mounting European debt concerns will continue to push overseas equities markets lower. But strategists say that Tokyo's fall is being tempered by expectations of buying by public pension funds, as well as the Bank of Japan's exchange-traded fund (ETF) purchases which are part of the central bank's liquidity-boosting program. "There are no reasons to be optimistic, but there is reason to expect BOJ and public pension fund buying, so the downside is supported for now," said Norihiro Fujito, senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley. (Reuters)