Asian markets plunge, Nikkei down more than 4 percent

(6 Feb 2008) SHOTLIST 1. Shot comes into focus showing electronic board at Tokyo Stock Exchange 2. Various of board 3. Tilt down Tokyo Stock Exchange trading floor 4. Mid of trader 5. Various of trading floor and traders STORYLINE: Japanese stocks fell more than three percent on Wednesday morning after Wall Street plunged overnight. The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index fell 416.33 points, or 3.03 percent, to 13,329.17 points on the Tokyo Stock Exchange about 15 minutes after the market opened. The Nikkei fell 0.82 percent on Tuesday. Stocks were lower in early trading tracking down Wall Street, where the Dow Jones industrials fell 2.93 percent on an unexpected contraction in the US service sector as evidence the economy is sinking into recession. It was the Dow's biggest one-day percentage drop since it lost 3.3 percent on February 27, 2007. The broader Topix index, which includes all shares on the exchange's first section, fell 40.25 points, or 2.97 percent, to 1,315.23. The Topix was down 0.68 percent on Tuesday. In currencies, the US dollar bought 106.56 yen in Tokyo, down from 106.92 yen late Monday in New York. The euro fell to 1.4640 US dollar from 1.4652 US dollar. Keyword-economy Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...