European u.s: Points and Ecb Moves

european u.s: On Thursday, the Nikkei fell 140.80 points. ; The Topix index of all first-section issues finished down 29.22 points, or 1.82 percent, at 1,572.44, after losing 13.59 points the previous day, according to The Japan Times. Stocks fell sharply right after the opening bell, hit by heavy risk-averse selling spurred by overnight sell-offs in the European and U.S. markets. The 225-issue average tumbled 430.45 points, or 2.01 percent, to end at 21,025.56, after breaching the 21,000 line for the first time since Feb. 15 on an intraday basis. Investors shied away from stocks and other risk assets in the wake of the European Central Bank sharply cutting its growth forecasts for the eurozone on Thursday. The ECB moves hurt market sentiment, which had already been soured since China lowered its 2019 growth target, brokers said. The ECB also decided at its policy-setting meeting to start a new program to supply liquidity to the banking system and refrain from raising interest rates this year. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.