AROUND THE WORLD'S MARKETS: TOKYO

THE JAPANESE stock market plummeted almost 3 per cent, with shares in global manufacturers weighed down by jitters over the yen's strength against the dollar.

The Nikkei-225 index finished down 482.41 points, or 2.69 per cent, at 17,436.56.

Export-driven companies such as Sony were among the biggest losers on expectations a strong yen could slice into their overseas earnings. Sony lost 2.5 per cent, Fujitsu fell 6.4 per cent, Matsushita Electric 4.6 per cent and Toyota 10 per cent.