2013.04.1601:37:40UTC+00Japan Stocks dive sharply as yen continues to advance

Japanese stocks trailed U.S. shares lower Tuesday, with overnight advances for the yen and the apparent bomb attack on the Boston Marathon helping weigh on sentiment. The Nikkei Stock Average dropped 2% at 13,015.38, with the Topix giving up 2.2%, as exporters sold off after the dollar's dip below 96-yen overnight and remained below ¥97 as Tokyo stock trading kicked off. Among the major losers, Sony Corp. surrendered 4.3%, Hitachi Ltd. slumped 3.3%, Toyota Motor Corp. diminished 2.5%, and Bridgestone Corp. backslides 3%. Shares of wireless telecom Softbank Corp. drifted 6.3% after Dish Network Corp. topped its bid for U.S. peer Sprint Nextel Corp.. A more than 9% decline for New York-traded gold futures help send Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. skidding 5.3%, while sharp overnight losses for crude-oil futures dragged JX Holdings Inc. down 3.6%. Among the few winners, Yoshinoya Holdings Co. moved a notch with 0.2% after predicting it would swing to profit in the current fiscal year.