Japan Airlines shares plunge 8.73% on China worries

Shares in Japan Airlines (JAL) plunged on Tuesday to close down nearly nine percent, less than a week after relisting, amid concern over a festering territorial spat between Tokyo and Beijing.

The carrier ended the day at 3,395 yen, down 8.73 percent from the previous day but off an intraday low of 3,375 hit in late afternoon trade.

The closing price was 10.42 percent lower than the offer price of 3,790 yen when JAL returned to the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Wednesday last week, less than three years after becoming one of Japan's biggest ever corporate failures.

Retail investors dumped their holdings amid pessimism over Sino-Japanese relations strained over a disputed island chain in the East China Sea and the possible fallout on firms heavily exposed to the region, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

JAL said last week it would cut the number of flights to China next month to reflect a fall in demand from tourists in both countries.

Shares in rival carrier All Nippon Airways (ANA) closed down 1.13 percent at 174 yen on Tuesday.

-source: MSN.Com