The yen rose against the dollar yesterday as investors continued their hunt for clues on when policy makers may taper the economic stimulus sending Japan’s Topix index spiralling down to its biggest two-day drop in nearly four months.

The carmaker Nissan Motor Co., which gets over a third of its revenue from North America, fell 3.5 percent. A gauge that tracks warehousing and harbour transportation shares experienced a losses among the 33 Topix industry groups, leading Yusen Logistics Co. into a 4.8 percent loss. The package deliverer Yamato Holdings Co. experienced the greatest decline on the Nikkei 225 Stock Average.

The Topic lost 0.9 percent, closing its two-day fall to 2.6 percent, the most since 8th August, while the Nikkei 225 dropped 1.5 percent. The Japanese currency, however, rose 0.3 percent, gaining for a third consecutive day. Investors are now eagerly looking forward to the release of the official NFP report tomorrow as the ADP NFP yesterday showed the most new job on the American market in a year. Other reports, such as the ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI, however, came in at lower levels than forecast.

Although Japanese shares are seen dropping just as fast as they rose, investors are not moving in on the pockets created by the market appearing unwilling to risk that the Fed may actually start tapering soon. The Topix (TPX) had reached a six-month high just on 3rd December before it started dropping again. The measure climbed 43 percent this year, recording the greatest advance among the major developed markets. Today, the index traded at 1.24 times its book value, in comparison with 2.59 for the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index and 1.76 for the Stoxx Europe 600 Index yesterday.