Nikkei plunged Tuesday on the U.S. credit rating agency warning to downgrade 6 eurozone nations for the debt crisis.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended down 120.82 points, or 1.39 percent, from Monday at 8,575.16, snapping three straight trading days of gains. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange finished 10.60 points, or 1.42 percent, lower at 738.01.

Decliners were led by the insurance, iron and steel and sea transport sectors. The mining and precision machinery sectors were the sole gainers.

The turnover was about 923.7 billion yen (about 11.87 billion U. S. dollars).