国际英语新闻：Tokyo stocks close down 2%

TOKYO, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks fell sharply Wednesday with the key Nikkei index closing below 8,000 line, as jittery about the global economic outlook overshadowed optimism over the inauguration of U.S. President Barack Obama.

    The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average lost 164.15 points, or 2.04 percent, from Tuesday to 7,901.64, finishing below the 8,000 threshold for the first time since Dec. 5.

    The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was down 17.88 points, or 2.22 percent, to 787.15.

    Stocks declined almost across the board, with major losers including insurance and rubber product issues. The only gainer was the pharmaceutical sector.

    Heavyweights on the Tokyo Stock Exchange all suffered losses, with volume leader Mizuho Financial Group lost 11 yen, or nearly 5 percent, to 217 yen, and Toyota Motor, the most heavily traded issue in value terms, dropping 120 yen, or nearly 4 percent, to 2,980 yen.

    One notable gainer was Elpida Memory, which rose 12 yen, or over 2 percent, to 545 yen, after the maker of dynamic random access memory chips said Wednesday it is in talks with three Taiwanese semiconductor makers with an eye to management integration.

    Trading volume on the main section came to 1,985.55 million shares, up from Tuesday's 1,729.97 million.

    The TSE's Second Section index was down 18.73 points, or 0.97 percent, to 1,906.57 on a volume of 52.17 million shares. On the Osaka Securities Exchange, the near-term March Nikkei 225 index futures contract was down 180 points to 7,870.