Tokyo bourse says to stay open despite quake-triggered tumble

15/03/2011 - 19:37

(Reuters) - The Tokyo Stock Exchange said it has no plan to suspend operations despite steep falls in share prices after Japan's devastating earthquake and tsunami, responding to rumors in the New York market that the bourse would close.

Amid mounting worries about the economic impact of the disaster, which killed more than 10,000 people, the benchmark Nikkei average closed down 10.6 percent on Tuesday, compounding a slide of 6.2 percent the day before.

The two-day fall has wiped some $620 billion off the market's value.

"We plan to stay open in a normal fashion. There is nothing special planned," Naoya Takahashi, a spokesman for the exchange, told Reuters early on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Michael Watson)