Japan's Nikkei tumbles over 3 pct in early trading

TOKYO, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock index tumbled more than 3 percent early Thursday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street after a hotter-than-expected September U.S. inflation reading.

In the first 15 minutes of trading, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average fell 2,258.91 points, or 3.33 percent, from Wednesday to 65,485.38.

The broader Topix index, meanwhile, was down 80.58 points, or 1.97 percent, at 4,016.20.