Tokyo stocks lose ground in morning following Wall Street's overnight plunge

TOKYO, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks lost ground Tuesday morning as investors offloaded shares following Wall Street's overnight plunge sparked by concerns about the global economy slowing down.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average dropped 264.22 points, or 1.23 percent, from Monday to 21,242.66.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, relinquished 20.54 points, or 1.29 percent, at 1,573.66.

Mining, miscellaneous product and pharmaceutical-linked issues comprised those that declined the most by the morning break.