The Nikkei Stock Average extended its decline into the afternoon session on October 2, after ending the morning at 68,326.72, down 630.00 points, or 0.91%, from the previous day. The afternoon session opened at 68,306.14, a further 650.58 points below the previous close and broadly in line with the morning close. TOPIX was also trading lower, down 43. The retreat followed gains of more than 3,400 points over the previous two sessions.