Nikkei finishes at its lowest level in three weeks after the shutdown of Ghosn, the fall of Nasdaq leads to the fall of technology stocks

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan's Nikkei fell to its lowest level in three weeks on Tuesday, as declining Nasdaq shares led Japanese brands in technology, while Nissan Motor fell after the announcement of the arrest and dismissal of President Carlos Ghosn.

Average Nikkei shares closed down 1.1% to 21,583.12, the lowest closing level since October 31st.

Nissan Motor Co was the most traded stock in terms of turnover and fell 5.5% to 950.7 yen, its lowest since August 2016, after Nissan said Ghosn was arrested for financial misconduct and would be removed from the board this week.

Nissan said that an internal investigation, triggered by a whistleblower's disclosure, had revealed that Mr. Ghosn had committed wrongdoing, including personal use of the company's money and a penny. – declaration of his income for years.

"It's shocking," said Toru Ibayashi, executive director of Wealth Management at UBS Securities Japan.

"By underreporting his salary, he essentially denied Nissan shareholders the possibility of judging whether the amount of his salary was appropriate. This incident will encourage investors to check if Japanese corporate governance works. "

While the market is in shock, some traders have said that Nissan's share price may suffer a limited disadvantage.

"This is a major corporate governance issue, but it will not immediately affect its bottom line," said Makoto Kikuchi, managing director of Myojo Asset Management. With its stock market price well below book value, it makes sense for long-term investors to be attracted by low-price valuations. "

Nissan's supplier, Nissan Shatai, dropped 2.5% and Nissan Tokyo Sales Holdings dealer stumbled 4.1%.

Mitsubishi Motors, another member of the Franco-Japanese partnership, also plunged 6.9%. Mitsubishi also announced that Ghosn would also be removed from his position as president.

Tuesday's losers include Apple Inc.'s suppliers, after the iPhone maker's actions plummeted overnight. Murata Manufacturing sold 3.5%, TDK Corp and Kyocera Corp respectively 1.9% and 1.6%.

Manufacturers of chip equipment were also sold, with Tokyo Electron down 1.8% and Advantest Corp down 2.7%.

The widest Topix loses 0.7% to 1.625.67.