>Share prices fell along a broad front Friday on the Tokyo Stock Exchange as concerns continue to dog the health of the nation's financial institutions.
The 225-issue Nikkei average plunged 697.51 points, or 4.2 percent, to end the day at 15,836.36. It was the first time in two years and four months that the key index has fallen below the 16,000 level.
Banking issues took a battering, as did export-dependent stocks, including consumer electronics, auto and high-tech issues -- the market's recent favorites. The biggest factor behind the selloff, according to Mamoru Shimode, a strategist at Deutsche Morgan Grenfell Capital Markets Ltd., was what he described as an overwhelming lack of political leadership in dealing with the nation's struggling financial institutions. The effective bankruptcy of Sanyo Securities Co. early this week was a fresh indication of that missing leadership, Shimode said.