Tokyo shares ended the morning session sharply lower on Monday, with its benchmark Nikkei index retreating from a seven-year high and briefly falling below 17,000, as sentiment here was punched by a weak GDP data.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average tumbled 453.18 points, or 2. 59 percent, from Friday to 17,037.65.
The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was down 29.22 points, or 2.09 percent, at 1, 371.19.
Decliners were led by insurance, consumer finance and utility issues.