Nikkei ends morning below 20-yr closing low

TOKYO, Japan - A chart board at a brokerage house in Tokyo's Yurakucho district shows hour-by-hour fluctuations of the key Nikkei index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange on April 25. The index ended the morning session below its recently scored 20-year closing low, battered by selling of technology shares triggered by Sony's bearish earnings outlook for the ongoing business year and falls in U.S. shares overnight. The 225-issue stock average dropped 169.29 points, or 2.16%, to end the morning session at 7,685.28, dipping below the 20-year closing low of 7,752.10 registered on April 14.