2014.03.1201:38:19UTC+00Japan stocks steeply plunge down

The Nikkei Average plummeted 1.7% at 14,966, sliding lower under the 15,000 mark for the first time this week, while the Topix is missed 1.5%.

The dollar is purchasing 102.89 yen after strongly placing itself over the ¥103 handle yesterday —this, even after Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda once again expressed his support for a declining yen late Tuesday.

Exporters are the leaders in the early drops, with Komatsu sagging down 2.1%, Tokyo Electron and Alps Electric gave up 2.8% each, and Fanuc relinquished 2.4%.

Among the autos, Toyota Motor is cede lower 1.2%, Mazda Motor is slump 1.6%, and Honda Motor recorded a 1.3% decline as the Nikkei reports its will increase monthly salaries by just over $21, less than the desired value by its union. Toyota will increase pay by about $26, per Kyodo News.

Toshiba is escaping with just an inch loss of 0.2% so far, supported by news its Westinghouse Electric subsidiary has won a contract involving two Finland reactors.

Among the few shares on the hike, Yoshinoya bolstered 0.2% on news it will raise financial values on its flagship beef bowl meal, while Kyushu Electric is 0.6% greater after the Nikkei reported the company’s Sendai nuclear plant will be among the first to undergo final checks before reopening.

And then there’s Sharp Corp. The tech major is ignoring the down market to bolster 2.2%, likely according on an anonymously sourced Kyodo News report that the company may join forces with U.S. cable provider Comcast Corp. to offer flat-screen televisions with embedded cable-channel receivers.