Tokyo shares fall in morning on reports of tougher U.S. banking restrictions

TOKYO, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks lost ground Thursday morning following a weak lead from Wall Street overnight setting a dour tone, with financial issues here pressured after reports of potentially tougher restrictions in the U.S. banking sector.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average dropped 54.61 points, or 0.25 percent, from Wednesday to 21,791.87.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, lost 3.17 points, or 0.19 percent, at 1,638.09.

Bank, insurance, and pulp and paper-linked issues comprised those that declined the most by the morning break.