Japanese stocks fell, though not sharply, after Shinzo Abe said he would resign as prime minister.

Mild rallies in the Nikkei and Topix were soon extinguished after the news that Mr Abe planned to quit first leaked out. And by close of play the Nikkei 225 was down 0.5 per cent on the day at 15,797.60, while the Topix fell 0.3 per cent to 1,528.27.