Nikkei slides 2% on weak U.S. data, Trump tariffs on Europe imports

TOKYO, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Japanese shares tumbled on
Thursday, with the Nikkei falling about 2%, after jobs data from
the U.S. cemented concerns that the trade war with China is
taking toll on the U.S. economy and as Washington opened a new
trade war front with Europe.
The Nikkei share average .N225 fell 1.93% to 21,358.10,
hitting its lowest levels in more than three weeks while the
broader Topix .TOPX lost 1.87% to 1,566.51, also a three-week
low.
The ADP National Employment Report in the United States
showed private payrolls growth in August was not as strong as
previously estimated, another worrying signal after a report on
Tuesday showing U.S. September factory activity contracted by
the most in more than a decade. The Trump administration said it will slap 25% tariffs on
French wine, Italian cheese and single-malt Scotch whisky, in
retaliation for European Union subsidies on large aircraft,
threatening to trigger a tit-for-tat trans-Atlantic trade war.
"While direct impacts on Japanese shares should be limited,
markets are looking at them in terms of whether the world is
heading further to protectionism, which will be bad for the
global economy," said Masayuki Kubota, chief strategist at
Rakuten Securities.
As investors fret about possible U.S. recession, Japanese
cyclical shares led Thursday's losses with securities brokerages
.ISECU.T falling 2.9% and transport equipment makers
.ITEQP.T losing 2.8%.
Daiwa Securities Group Inc 8601.T dropped 3.3% and Nomura
Holdings Inc 8604.T fell 2.1%.
Among automakers, Toyota Motor Corp 7203.T slid 2.4% while
Suzuki Motor Corp 7269.T lost 3.3% and Nissan Motor 7201.T
2.8%.
Insurers were among big losers too, with T&D Holdings
8795.T falling 3.9% after U.S. financials underperformed on
Wednesday.
About 95% of shares declined in early trade, with all of the
Tokyo Stock Exchange's 33 industry subindexes posting losses.
Markets players say the selling was inevitable given many
shares had been overbought.
So-called up-down ratio, which measures the number of shares
that have risen over the past 25 days against those that have
fallen, has risen to 141%, way above 120% mark usually seen as a
sign of short-term overheating.