. >>> on the tokyo stock exchange, stocks are falling due to a big rise in the yen caused by the quake and ongoing problems at the fukushima daiichi power plant. here's emily wang with the latest. >> reporter: ross, the nikkei index broke below the key 9,000 mark again this morning as current yen levels are keeping the pressure on markets already hit hard by the latest developments. the morning session, trading session just ended 50 minutes ago. the nikkei average closed the morning session at 8903. it is down over 2%. top ix is trading lower at 802. down 1.8%. shares are down in most sectors with major electronics manufacturers, as well as automakers trading lower once again. keep in mind, many japanese companies have assumed a dollar yen rate of around 80 level. so it could cut in to an export of profits. given that exports are a key driver of the economic recovery in japan, the yen's current levels could hurt not only the exporters but also japan's economic recovery. overall as investors become more nervous they are more risk averse and we could see volatile moves in markets around

tokyo stock exchange, it fell 6% in first two hours of trading. we'll get more on the markets live from the new york stock exchange in about 15 minutes. >> even the fear of radiation continues to grow in japan, there are climers of hope from rescuers. they a woman alive. meantime, this morning, japan's prime minister ordered 140,000 people living near the fukushima daiichi nuclear reactor to seal themselves indoors. it came after a new fire in one of plant's reactors. they say the levels could be very dangerous if people are exposed to them over a long period of time. in tokyo there are reports of slightly elevated radiation levels but the increase is considered too small to threaten the 39 million people there. for the latest, here a reporter by telephone. >> this is a country that has been on edge since the massive quake hit last friday but word of yet another explosion at the fukushima daiichi power station brought those concerns to a whole new level. it occurred at the second reactor at 6:00 in the morning and sparked immediate concern because

we hear from >> alan: the tokyo stock exchange was down 5.5% in the opening minutes of trading. the start of the first day of traigd -- trading since the earthquake. japan's central bank announced it haips jected 7 trillion yen into the money markets. >> google is providing before and after picturesle the first shows the sendai region. the region's lush green landscape has been transform interest a brown canvas of destruction. and this is the coastal fishing village from the green farmland to the left, after the tsunami, the village is virtually flattened. engulfed by the raw power of the with with waves. incredible. we're going to talk about the rain coming in. >> leigh: a band of rain moving rapidly across the bay area. san francisco, about 15 minutes ago. now moving over the bay. this is from the high definition east bay cam. looking over the bay, and as we pan around, you're going to see a big squall. there it is right there, very heavy rainfall pounding the bay right now. we take a look at live doppler 7hd. you see that cloud base just pulling that rain down rapidly, and yo

. >> it's monday morning in japan, the start of the first day of trading on the tokyo stock exchange. analysts have been fearing a nose dive. preliminary estimates put repair costs in the tens of billions of dollars. toyota, nissan and honda have suspended production. sony and to toshiba have temporarily closed len allergic conclude electric tropic -- electronic plants, and now japan is dealing with an erupting volcano. it's spewing ash and rock. it's in southern japan, fair -- far away from the quake zone. japan and our own west coast both lie on the ring of fire, an arc of seismic which i active zone. we have much more ahead on the impact of the earthquake and tsunami in japan, including the passengers leaving sfo for japan today, despite a travel warning by the state department. and the efforts to salvage >> alan: the state departmentes urging americans not to go to japan, the state department said americans should avoid tourism and other unnecessary visits for now. at san francisco international airport we caught up with several people catching a flight into the city of osaka whic

the tokyo stock exchange took the worst beating, ending 10.5% down with all of its listed stocks settling in negative territory. it was one of the worst performances for the nikkei on record. tokyo electric power lost 24% on tuesday. the maximum allowable in one session. all 30 stocks on germany's blue- chip dax fell as well, pressured by the growing nuclear crisis in japan. >> the market has been stepped between a crash and a major stop -- major sell-off this tuesday. major concerns about a probable nuclear disaster in japan, it went up -- what down up to 5.5%. share prices recovered slightly but ended up in negative territory by 3%. shares of lufthansa were driven down after announcing plans not to fly to tokyo. utility shares have been hit hard because the german government decided to shut down seven nuclear plants in germany. >> let's take a closer look at the closing numbers. we start in frankfurt -- a dax settled at 6647. in new york, the federal reserve held its overnight lending rate at 02 .25%. the fed kept crisis measures in place to have a clearer u.s. economy. the euro is trad

. >> mass selling on the tokyo stock exchange as investors try to guess how badly japan's major companiesirms like toshiba, toyota, and nissan have had to stop production because with 11 of japan's 54 nuclear power stations out of action, they're running out of energy. >> we've stopped production as of today. we're taking the opportunity to assess how affected each operation is. frankly, it's extraordinarily complex. it's not just our factories, it's also our suppliers. obviously, some of the suppliers are within the exclusion area for the nuclear plant. >> it's insurance companies that are hardest hit. it's estimated that the physical damage from the japanese earthquake and tsunami will cost $51 billion to repair and the total cost to the economy from that and lost production could total $99 billion. that would make this disaster about as costly as hurricane katrina in new orleans in 2005. >> one of the things we know about the japanese market is it tends to keep a lot of its exposures within the domestic japanese insurance market so i think they will bear a brunt of it but once it gets

tokyo stock exchange opened an hour after the third explosion. it sent a chill through the market to be sure. the average fell 6 percent in the first 2 hours. finished down another 12 percent. that is 17 percent loss in just two days. >>> well many bay area resident who were in japan during the earthquake now back home. some returned on schedule. others cut the vacation short. lillian is in the news room that part of the story tonight. lillian? >>reporter: dan, people we spoke to were eager to get back home. place nothing like they have ever felt and the experience they say was terrifying. about hugs lasted a bit longer and tears flowed more freely. passengers on flight from tokyo arrive in the bay area relieved and emotiona emotional. >> there was just so scary over there. >>reporter: they had just arrived in tokyo when the earthquake hit. the vacation was supposed to last 3 weeks. three days into the trip they decided to go home. they say they were scared something bad was going to happen again. >> the disaster could happen at any moment becaus

second look at the stock market starts with asia's reaction the massive sell off on the tokyo stock exchange and then you go on to say investors were trying to guess how bad the japan's major companies could be here the nikkei closed down ten and a half percent hong kong's hang seng tackle those losses tracked them closing the session down three percent the increase to losses were compounded by japan's prime minister's statement that quote substantial amount of radiation was leaking from the fukushima nuclear power plant. what we have seen today is just a over reaction to what's going on in japan and the market has already priced is this something worse happened in the rest of that we yesterday when i thought the situation could be it's a bottom but when i came back to bill sr the situation gets worse. if those kind of vicious cycle starts well this is the people. and the nobody knows how fast the fall. european stocks of fall and sharply amid fears that japan's earthquake may undermine supply chains for global manufacturers european auto stocks dived with the poorest performing for a bounce

saving of the markets now we start with asia the massive sell off on the tokyo stock exchange continueon tuesday as investors were trying to guess just how bad loser plans major companies could be to get the nikkei closed just under ten and a half ten point six percent it's a third consecutive slump hong kong's hang seng track those losses close in the session down the same. u.s. markets are trading a low of one point six percent for the dow and the nasdaq on worries about the worsening situation in japan joining the global selloff general electric remains the main loser the second day is down three point four percent together with toshiba which dropped sixteen percent and so here the company was one of the main contractors for the reactors of machinery. here in russia both the arctic and the my six also joined the global sell off on tuesday that's after a largely ignoring the japanese prices the previous day before disease lost more than one and a half percent and as usual losing ground on decreasing oil prices was near shedding two percent was banking shares were also down back leadi

sinking of the markets now we start with asia and there's a massive selloff in the tokyo stock exchange on shoes day as investors were trying to guess just how bad the japan's major companies could be here's the nikkei closed down ten point five percent it's further consecutive hong kong's hang seng tracked those losses closing the session down percent. what we have seen today is just over reaction to what's going on in the market hope has already priced in there's something worse happening in the rest of the week yesterday when i thought situation could be it's important but when i came back to the office today the situation gets worse. if those kind of vicious cycle starts but then that series of people's risk updater wanes for the more and nobody knows how far forward. right now to other markets u.s. markets also trading one and a half percent they actually opened down two percent on worries about the u. worsening situation in japan joining the global sell off general electric remains one of the main news of the second day down two point three percent together with toshiba which drop

let's see how the asian markets reacted to the situation in japan the massive sell off on the tokyo stock exchange continued on tuesday as investors were trying to guess how badly japan's major companies could be hit the nikkei closed just under eleven percent of its second slump in two days hong kong's hang seng credit those losses closing the session down three percent the increase losses were compounded by japan's prime minister's statement that a substantial amount of radiation was leaking from the fukushima nuclear power plant. and it's a see all roads in europe on the back of panic selling that swept across tokyo in the aftermath of the number explosion at the troubled for the shimon nuclear plant stacks a slumping more than three percent and the footsie is not far behind with a two percent loss this hour. and here in russia both the art. yes of the mice itself the gun tracking global losses after largely ignoring the japanese crisis on monday energy shares and losing ground on decreasing oil prices slopestyle a look at some individual share moves most banking shares are down was going to be

little cull the asian markets reacted to the situation in japan the massive sell off on the tokyo stock exchange continued on tuesday as investors were trying to guess how badly to oppose major companies could be hit the nikkei closed just under eleven percent down and its second slump in two days hong kong sank saying those losses closing the session down three percent increase losses were compounded by japan's prime minister statements that are substantial amount of radiation was leaking from the fukushima nuclear power plant. its best sea of red in europe on the back of an exulting that swept across tokyo in the aftermath of another explosion at the troubled for the sheema nuclear plant frankest texas regaining some losses and large time trading but is still losing just over four percent and would say is now. car behind down two percent the south. and here in russia both the r.t.s. and the miles itself the government tracking global also soft and largely ignoring the japanese crisis on monday energy shares and losing ground on decreasing oil prices let's have a look at some individual show mo

. >> the tokyo stock exchange, the average is down 3.7%. yesterday it closed up 5.7% after losing 11% the day before. >>> the vote is now underway on governor's brown's plan, why republicans say it is nothing but a drill. >> more rain in your forecast as we roll into the next 36 hours. i will show you which areas will see the most rain. >>> the federal budget is once again a game of chicken in congress. they passed a spending plan good for three weeks. the senate must pass the bill before friday morning. republicans and democrats will keep negotiating a longer- termclusion to fund the government through september. >> lawmakers right now are voting on jerry brown's plan to close the state's budget deaftset. ktvu's ken pritchett was on the floor and live now with why many are saying this isn't a real vote, more like a drill. >> reporter: frank, we left the floor a short time ago. right now lawmakers are voting on the governor's budget. it is a vote on 20 different bills. this could take days. a bill to put tax extensions on the june ballot. >

markets now we start with asia's reaction to the situation in japan the massive sell off from tokyo stock exchange continued on tuesday as investors were trying to guess just how bad the japan's major companies could be had as a result the nikkei is down ten and a half percent saying follow suit as down almost three percent the. u.s. markets did open two percent lower on worries about the worsening situation of joining the global selloff general electric remains the main losers second days down two point six percent together with third tashi which dropped sixty percent in tokyo the company was wanting to make contracts for the actions of the sheba right now both of these are down the half percent european stocks also fall sharply amid fears that break may undermine its right change for global manufactures in the scenes of manage the slight comeback with the dax now down three percent so the forty one point three percent there russia both the r.t.s. and of myself joined the global selloff on tuesday after the largely ignoring japanese crisis the previous day open to things lost more than one half a

now move to the stock markets and we start years again with asia the massive selloff in the tokyo stock exchange continued on changed as investors were trying to guess just how badly japan's major companies could be here the nikkei closed down ten and a half percent its worth consecutive slump hong kong's hang seng track those losses close in the session down three percent u.s. markets have managed to recover some of the loss and as the fed delivers after the comments on the u.s. economy flights in the seas remain in the red with japanese woes general electric remains the main loser the second day one of the main losers is down one point three percent the south together with toshiba sixteen percent and the company was one of the main contractors for the reactors. here in russia both the r.t.s. and the my six did join the global selloff on tuesday after the largely ignoring the japanese crisis the previous day overseas lost more than one and all of them were losing ground on the creasing world prices draws near shedding two percent most banking shares were also down. be more than two percent in t

asian markets reacting to a situation in japan would have reacted rather massive selloff on tokyo stock exchange continued on tuesday investors will try to guess just how bad the transmitter company could be there for the nikkei is down ten and a half a sentence heard consecutive slap on contango bank records motors closing the session and down almost three percent the increased losses were compounded by japan's prime minister's statement that a quote from standstill amount of radiation or anything the regime a nuclear power plant. what we have seen today is just an over reaction to what's going on in japan the market house has already priced there's something worse should happen in the rest of the week yesterday when i thought the situation could be it's a bottom but when i came back to the oldest of a situation gets worse and if those kind of vicious cycle starts of it that series of people's risk up take away his father more and nobody knows how far that he could shoot for. take a look at u.s. markets now they're down two percent so on worries about the worsening situation in japan joining pe

the tokyo stock exchange took the worst beating, ending 10.5% down with all of its listed stocks settling in negative territory. it was one of the worst performances for the nikkei on record. tokyo electric power lost 24% on tuesday. the maximum allowable in one session. all 30 stocks on germany's blue- chip dax fell as well, pressured by the growing nuclear crisis in japan. >> the market has been stepped between a crash and a major stop -- major sell-off this tuesday. major concerns about a probable nuclear disaster in japan, it went up -- what down up to 5.5%. share prices recovered slightly but ended up in negative territory by 3%. shares of lufthansa were driven down after announcing plans not to fly to tokyo. utility shares have been hit hard because the german government decided to shut down seven nuclear plants in germany. >> let's take a closer look at the closing numbers. we start in frankfurt -- a dax settled at 6647. in new york, the federal reserve held its overnight lending rate at 02 .25%. the fed kept crisis measures in place to have a clearer u.s. economy. the euro is trad

the earthquake friday hit 15 minutes before the end of the trading week at the tokyo stock exchange, giving investors little time to react. but the nikkei index to close at a five-week low. japanese stock futures and continued to fall. europe market's drop for the third day running, erasing this year's advance. shares led lower by insurance companies. conrad paulson says this summary of the friday session in frankfurt. >> the images of the earthquake in and japan left their mark on the trading floor here in frankfurt. significantly under pressure can these shares in the big reinsurance companies. japan is a very developed country where many people and businesses have a lot of insurance policies. it is very likely that the big insurers will soon have to deal with the aftermath of the earthquake. in the man were japanese government bonds. the announcement of the bank of japan to support the economy and to support the financial markets led to the speculation here that the bank of japan will do this by buying japanese government bonds itself. >> we can stay in frankfurt for a closer look

. >>> for the very first time, since the earthquake the tokyo stock exchange registered gains.lowing two days of rampant selling which saw the market lose about 16% of its value. major export companies including toyota and sony were up big. >>> automakers are forced to cut back due to the disaster in japan. toyota's factories across north america will shut down saturday assembly lines. toyota fears it might run out of parts that are made in japan. meanwhile, subaru's plant in indiana has stopped all overtime and saturday production for similar reasons. mazda factories in japan were scheduled to reopen today but will now remain closed until at least sunday due to a shortage of parts. >>> health officials here in the u.s. say no one has anything to fear from the nuclear crisis in japan but that has not stopped plenty of people on the west coast from definitely worrying about this. they're buying up potassium iodide pills, so much so that many stores across california are sold out, despite assurances they really aren't necessary. >> i would not recommend that people buy potassium

of course, that all happened after the president of tokyo's stock exchange appealed for calm.ss asia traded lower as well. >>> that was also the case for stocks here at home yesterday. the dow plunged 242 points, in its worst single-day drop since last august. this week the dow has slipped more than 3.5%. that's the worst three-day loss since july. >>> and stay with abc news throughout the morning and throughout the day as we cover the ever-changing situation in japan. we'll have live updates on "america this morning" and later on "good morning america." also stay up to date any time at abcnews.com. >>> moving on to other news beginning with libya. four "new york times" journalists who have been covering the fighting there are now missing. pulitzer prize winning reporter anthony shadid, stephen farrell and photographers tyler hicks and lynsey addario were last heard from on tuesday. meanwhile, moammar gadhafi's forces have been battling rebels in a key city in eastern libya. there could be a vote today in the u.n. security council on whether to impose a no-fly zone over libya.

. >>> as we heard at the top of the half hour, the tokyo stock exchange continues to hemorrhage in theogistics. >> reporter: much of northern japan's infrastructure is in tatters as we saw from the air. coastal roads, bridges and rail system are all under water. making it nearly impossible to reach by land. so, for now, the humanitarian intervention is dependent on military helicopters and other aircraft to bring supplies in. even so -- can you cope for caring for the whole coast? >> this is beyond our imagination. >> reporter: the red cross tells us that despite logistical difficulties the most urgent priority is getting food and water to any who may have survived. after that, the grim task of collecting the bodies. christiane amanpour, abc news, tokyo. >>> and our coverage of the disaster in the pacific continues later this half hour. we'll take a look at nuclear energy, exactly how it's made and what really leads to a dangerous situation at a power plant. you can stay tuned for "america this morning" and also "good morning america" for live updates from japan. >>> another big headli

tokyo markets saw a rebound overnight after two days of steep losses. we'll go live to the new york stock exchange in 15 minutes. >> right now japanese officials are battling a new fire 140 miles north of tokyo. workers who tried to cool down one of the reactors were forced to leave after a dangerous surge in radiation. they say they are now preparing to send them back in. a team of 180 workers had been rotated in. this morning, the japanese emperor made an address expressing condolences and urging japan not to give up. >> reporter: today more problems at fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant meant the last line of defense there grew even thinner. >> the worst case scenario is starting to unfold. >> reporter: there was a second fire at the fourth unit. smoke rose from the number three reactor. they scooped up sea water hoping to drop it but the plan was dropped with when radiation spiked. the final 50 workers kept on to help prevent a nuclear meltdown were sent away. >> the radiation levels are getting so high the workers can't stay there. >> they say radiation levels continue to fluctuate. >> on

stocks were also up overnight. efforts to fix the fukushima plant's cooling systems are continuing. this is easing concerns in the market. >>> on the tokyo foreign exchange the dollar is lower against the yen on tuesday morning. the dollar is currently at 81.02-06 yen. while the euro is at 115.16-21 yen. participants are selling the greenback to lock in gains. that follows the dollar's rise, triggered by friday's market intervention by the g-7. the yen is getting an extra boost from japanese exporters that are bringing back their dollar holdings at the business year end. but the up side is capped as many players are worried by further actions by the g-7. >>> now here's a look at the latest long-term irpt rates. this is the yield on the benchmark 10-year japanese government bond. in other asian markets, hong kong's hang seng is up 0.04% at 22,694.6. the shanghai's key dimension for major blue chips fell 0.64% at 6,665.51. and in shenzhen the sse composite is down 1% at 1,272.83. >>> now, japan's central bank has provided another 2 trillion yen, or about $24 billion to the short-term money markets on tuesday morning. commercial banks have been keeping extr

is the exchange of the moment well as japanese earthquake out another blow to the markets already played by the middle east. the quake struck in the closing minutes of stock market trading in tokyo and that accelerated the fall the end of last ground reaching its lowest level until weeks against the dollar some exporters like toyota and sony have holding their operations and insurers are also hit hard japanese quake and aftershocks to europe and russia where in the says are shedding losses we see rice and oil stocks going down before they were a little. and the reason is that we're seeing all decline out of the thousand refineries shut processing plant so as you see the impact of the quake are the economy in that country it's quite significant k.k. and i'm very anxious for how events in japan are affecting our the world's markets will get more from the business report a little later in the hour for now. well let's get some expert opinion now from denethor he is but also use the director of the international seismological center in london for us this is your take on many years of being with us here on arsinoe as a seismologist can you say why such a massive quake was not predicte

. >>> the japanese stock market in tokyo opened moments ago and the nikkei index has already fallen. the quake hit minutes before the market closed on friday, causing the exchange to lois one per share of its value in a few minutes of trading. banks are expected to pour millions to prevent massive losses in the stock market. >>> fundraising efforts are well underway to help those suffering in japan. as ktvu's allie rasmus explains. >> friday's massive earthquake and tsunami and the many aftershocks are constantly in your heads right now. >> reporter: helping the victims of that disaster was the message before sunday morning prayers at the congregational church in el cerrito. a major of the church's members have family ties to japan. >> when we see the devastating images we feel so helpless. not being able to go and put sandbags or give a cup of coffee, it's one way to connect. >> reporter: across the bay in san francisco's japan town, a group of community leaders plan to meet together tomorrow morning. they are going to coordinate their fundraising efforts for the earthquake victims. >> because it happened just before the weekend, we haven't been able to gather

stock exchange. >> roiled is really the right word. you saw stabilization in the tokyo market overnight, down 1.5%. i've never seen anything like this. we always think markets have full information and so they trade sort of ahead of what the rest of us know. in this situation you get a headline out of an eu nuclear minister and the market plunging here in the u.s. then the tokyo power plant in charge of the plant says, no, things are okay. the market rebounds. it is literally a roller coaster and a whip saw. it's not so much because of the economic impact, it's because of the uncertainty and because the word radiation and the word meltdown sparks a lot of fear. we'll get a bit of a pop today. it's really a headline driven market. back to you. >> erin burnett at the new york stock exchange watching the markets closely. thank you. >>> bahrain is on lockdown after security forces unleashed a wave of violence on demonstrators in the capital wednesday. witnesses report police slumming into the central hospital, attacking doctors and square, d were sprayed with tear gas and r