Nikkei driven below 10,000 by crisis, hits 5-yr low

(Updates to midsession)

TOKYO, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Fears over the global financial crisis briefly drove Japan's Nikkei stock average down more than 5 percent on Tuesday to a five-year low below 10,000 before bargain hunting emerged to pare losses to 3.1 percent.

A stronger yen, holding near a six-month high against the dollar hit on Monday, hurt exporters such as Canon Inc (7751.T) and automakers, whose earnings have been badly undercut by the worsening economy overseas. FXNEWS [FRX/]

The benchmark Nikkei .N225 shed 324.63 points to 10,148.46 by midsession after earlier falling as far as 9,916, its lowest since December 2003. The broader Topix was down 2.7 percent to 972.13 after earlier falling more than 5 percent. (Reporting by Elaine Lies)