Nikkei Turns Back the Clock to '82

By the end of the morning session’s dubious positive close, the Nikkei had already fallen through its post-bubble trough in early trading (compare valuations then and now), taking it to a level last reached 26-years ago (today’s close: 7,162.90).

Media reports of mega banks needing to raise capital were finally taken seriously in the afternoon session, spreading selling broadly beyond banks and solidifying the 26-year low close. The N225 has now lost over 2,100 points in the past four days! And Nikkei futures broke the 7,000 level, trading as low as 6,900 in late trading before settling at 7,090 or about 70 points below the regular session.

The broader TOPIX sold-off even harder than the N225 to fall to a near 25 year low (today’s close: 746.46). Get ready for bailouts.