Japan's Nikkei hits 9-day low as recession fears grip markets

* Nikkei sheds 1.21%, brushes 9-day low
* Strong yen hits exporters, lower yields weigh on
financials

By Shinichi Saoshiro
TOKYO, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei hit a nine-day low
on Thursday as resurgent global recession fears triggered a Wall
Street slide and sent the safe-haven yen higher, weighing
heavily on the country's export firms.
The Nikkei share average .N225 ended the day down 1.21% at
20,405.65. During the day, it touched 20,184.85, its lowest
since Aug. 6.
All three major U.S. indexes closed down about 3% on
Wednesday, with the blue-chip Dow .DJI posting its biggest
one-day point drop since October, after the U.S. Treasury yield
curve temporarily inverted for the first time in 12 years
-considered a classic recession signal. .N
"Market confidence has already been deteriorating steadily
due to the ongoing U.S.-China trade conflict and the Treasury
yield curve inversion looks to have pushed sentiment over the
edge," said Yoshinori Shigemi, global market strategist at JP
Morgan Asset Management.
Shares of Japanese exporters retreated as the safe-haven yen
JPY= strengthened against the dollar due to the widespread
risk aversion.
Toyota Motor Corp 7203.T fell 0.9%, Honda Motor Co
7267.T dropped 1.4%, Panasonic 6752.T shed 2.6% and
Bridgestone Corp 5108.T was down 1.1%.
Financial institutions also took a hit, as the sharp drop in
bond yields was seen hurting their profitability. Mitsubishi UFJ
Financial Group 8306.T lost 1.1%, Mizuho Financial Group
8411.T retreated 0.5% and Dai-ichi Life Holdings 8750.T sank
1.6%.
Energy-related shares declined as crude oil prices fell on
the back of global recession concerns. Refiner Idemitsu Kosan Co
5019.T dropped 1.9% and natural gas and oil developer Inpex
Corp 1605.T pulled back 1.8%.
The few gaining stocks included robotics company Cyberdyne
Inc 7779.T , which rallied 4.9% after its April-June pretax
profit returned to the black with its medical robotic suits
finding demand at home and abroad. The broader Topix .TOPX was down 1.04% at 1,483.85.
Declining shares outnumbered gainers by 1,812 to 272.
All of Tokyo's 33 sub-indexes were in the red, with oil and
coal products .IPETE.T and precision machinery .IPRCS.T the
biggest losers.

(Editing by Sam Holmes)