THE sharp fall on the Tokyo stock market yesterday took its toll on the local exchange, which saw the Hang Seng Index drop in weak turnover. The index lost 93.3 points or one per cent to close at 9,170.64 with shares worth $5.26 billion changing hands. It was the first time this month the turnover went below $6.5 billion. Yesterday's turnover was the lowest since October 26, when the market posted a turnover of $5.21 billion. ''People are very worried about what's happened in Japan,'' said Barclays de Zoete Wedd assistant director Nial Gooding. The Nikkei tumbled about 600 points to send shudders through the local market. If the Tokyo market goes down, Japanese will be under enormous pressure to invest in their own country and withdraw from the US treasury bond market in which they are the biggest overseas investors. Lowered bond prices will lift the yield, which will make the US bond market more attractive than the Hong Kong stock market. ''Stock prices fell across the board . . . With Morgan Stanley having reduced Hong Kong's weighting, some of those who used to buy were scared away,'' said Crosby Securities dealing director Willie Chau Wing-hung. Brokers said selling pressure - both from locals and overseas - was not strong, as reflected in the low turnover. ''One or two people hoped to cash in. They booked some profits and stayed on the sidelines,'' said Mr Gooding. ''The sentiment was cautious. Investors didn't show much interest in the market,'' said Schroder Securities assistant director Peter So. Mr Chau said: ''With the Sino-British talks not showing any progress, investors stayed on the sidelines.'' Liquidity would be a problem this week, said Mr Gooding. Holidays in Japan today and in the US on Thursday would especially squeeze market liquidity, he said. Brokers predicted a similar level of daily turnover for the rest of the week in the absence of relevant news. Yesterday, the market opened at around 9,272 points to rally in the first half hour to the day's high of 9,333.06, thrilling both brokers and investors. ''Right after trading started, it performed well with bargain-hunters stepping in,'' said Mr So. But soon the index lost its momentum, rolling down a slippery slope until hitting 9,252.64 at 11.30 am. At that point, upward momentum ruled again to send the index sprinting up to around 9,290. The see-saw game went on until the index concluded the morning session at 9,256.09 points. ''The short rises represented technical rebounds, which failed to form a strong force at the end of the day,'' said Mr Chau. During the lunch break, investors digested the news of the Japanese market plunge. The afternoon session was swept up in a selling frenzy touched off by worries over the Japanese market, with the Hang Seng slumping to the day's low of 9,165.26 about 15 minutes before the close. ''The fall in Japan prompted investors to sell futures locally. Then when people felt the futures were not standing firm, selling pressure came into the spot market. There was a small panic,'' said Mr So. November index futures slumped 200 points to close at 9,085, giving an 85-point discount to the cash index. About 9,865 lots were dealt in the November contract, compared with a total market turnover of 12,073 lots. China Aerospace was the biggest loser yesterday, tumbling $1.35 or 18.75 per cent to $5.85. The drop represented profit-taking after the huge leap from $3.275 a month ago to last Friday's close of $7.20. The counter was the third on the top turnover list, with shares worth $190.44 million traded. World Trade Centre Group posted the biggest turnover of $238.82 million. The stock edged up 10 cents to $2.20.