Nikkei 225 loses 16,000 level, lowest since Oct 2014

FXStreet (Bali) - The Nikkei 225 continues to trade under intense selling pressure, last exchanging hands at fresh lows below the psychological 16,000.00, -1.15%, having reached its lowest level since October 2014, as global pessimism mounts.

Risk off new norm

The strong declines in the early going of Tokyo follow a semi-capitulation drop of more than 5% on Tuesday - largest decline in years -, as market jitters on potential bankruptcies of energy companies and the exposure to energy-related debt by financial institutions wreak havoc risk sentiment; the worsening conditions have also resulted in market participants no longer placing much faith on the Federal Reserve raising rates again this year.

Kuroda's plans backfire, ugly picture

Domestically, so far, plans by BOJ Chief Kuroda to stimulate low inflation via negative rates and boost the Nikkei 225 while depreciating the Yen, have completely backfired, amid strong risk aversion, which is becoming the norm since the start of 2016. The 10-year Japan government bond yield (JGB), which traded sub zero for the first time during Tuesday, also reflected the flight to safety by Japanese investors, in a day in which Nomura shares fell by more than 10%, a fresh 3-year low for the largest Japanese broker.