Japanese stocks fell on Friday morning after the US dollar plunged below 108 yen for the first time in 1-1/2 years, putting exporters to the sword, while a profit warning from apparel giant Fast Retailing also weighed heavily on indexes.

The Nikkei share average slipped 0.6 per cent to end the morning session at 15,661.63, and is on track to finish the week about three per cent lower.

Profit outlooks trimmed

A broad swath of shares were sold as exporters and other forex-exposed firms saw profit outlooks trimmed by the yen’s strength against the dollar as it climbed as much as 1.6 per cent to its strongest since October 2014.

Shares of Sony Corp fell 1.5 per cent, while Hitachi Ltd slipped 0.8 per cent and tire exporter Bridgestone Corp declined 1.1 per cent.

Rising yen

Concerned about the rising yen’s impact on the trade-reliant economy, Japanese officials have hinted at intervention. Finance Minister Taro Aso issued a fresh warning on Friday, saying that rapid currency moves were undesirable and that authorities will take steps as needed.

“Ahead of the weekend we’re seeing some unwinding of long positions, and less long buying coming in from investors due to the incredible velocity of the yen's appreciation,” said Gavin Parry, managing director at Parry International Trading.

“Fast Retailing is also yoking the market this morning.”

Fast Retailing shares plummeted more than 11 per cent after the apparel company cut its net profit forecast by half, citing significant declines in first-half operating income from its Uniqlo brand outlets in Japan and abroad.

Chemical manufacturer Daicel Corp tumbled more than 10.3 per cent to a 17-month low after Honda Motor Co said it would recall a total of about 140,000 of its vehicles that used air bag inflators made by the company.

The broader Topix edged down 0.2 per cent to 1,269.75, putting it on course to end the week 2.4 per cent lower.

The JPX-Nikkei Index 400 fell 0.2 per cent to 11,461.47.

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