Japan Stocks Drop Sharply In Post-holiday Return

Japanese stocks took a slap to the face in early Tuesday moves, as the market returned from a three-day weekend to find U.S. shares weaker and the yen trading higher. The Nikkei Stock Average was down 2.3%, with a 2.4% loss for the broader Topix, as the dollar bought �107.11, down from �107.80 at the Friday Tokyo stock session's close, but off the U.S. currency's overnight low below �107. The forex moves and the losses for Wall Street overnight -- and on other Asia bourses Monday -- took the blue-chip exporters and other globally exposed names sharply lower. Sony Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. fell 3% each, Hitachi Ltd. lost 2.7%, Alps Electric Co. gave up 3.3%, Softbank Corp. retreated 3.2%, Nissan Motor Co. pulled back by 3.4%, and Suzuki Motor Corp. tanked by 4.7% as the Nikkei business daily said its July-September operating profit likely decreased for the first time in two years due to weak domestic demand. Among the few advancers, retailer Takashimaya Co. rose 2.4%, while Fujifilm Holdings Corp. -- which makes an influenza medicine being used to fight Ebola -- gained 1.3% after another case of the deadly disease was reported in the U.S.