Pacific shares under pressure

For the first time in three days the FTSE Asia Pacific index has fallen 0.4 percent, while the Nikkei stock average fell 0.57 percent or 57.60 to 9578.53.

Renewed worry about high levels of radiation at Japan’s nuclear power plant in Fukushima has again put Asia Pacific shares under pressure with radiation levels said to be 100,000 times higher than usual. Workers had to be evacuated late on Sunday from Reactor 2 in Fukushima following the finding that extremely elevated radioactivity levels were identified at the plant.

Stocks may have also been affected as an earthquake with a initial magnitude of 6.5 hit Miyagi Prefecture and its vicinity in north-eastern Japan this morning, Japan Meteorological Agency said. A tsunami warning was issued for the Pacific coast of the prefecture but was later lifted.

The FTSE Hong Kong index fell 0.46 percent but remained up by 0.2 percent after banks and the coal mining industry published results that showed higher than expected earnings.

Meanwhile the FTSE ALL-World equity index has suffered its first loss in eight sessions, down 0.2 percent, and so terminates the successive stint that elevated stocks back to levels observed prior to the March 11 earthquake in Japan.