Tokyo stocks fell more than 2 percent on Monday, leading Asia's major markets lower as worries about currency strength hurt exporters and falling oil and metal prices hit energy and resource stocks. The dollar hit a six-week high against the euro ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's first semi-annual monetary policy report on Wednesday, and even a major snowstorm in the U.S. Northeast could not keep oil above $61.50 a barrel. Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei average ended down 2.34 percent at 15,877.66 -- its first close below 16,000 since Jan. 26 -- and MSCI's index of non-Japan Asian shares at was down 1.1 percent at 0600 GMT, with stock markets in South Korea and Australia losing over 1 percent. Technology exporters such as Fujitsu Ltd. were sold on worries that gains in the yen could hurt earnings, and energy-related firms such as Teikoku Oil Co. Ltd. were hurt by a fall in oil prices. Adding to the negative sentiment, foreign investors appeared to be locking in profits, said Masayoshi Yano, senior manager of investment information at Tokai Tokyo Securities Co. Ltd. "The fact that Toyota (Motor Corp. and some other blue-chip shares are firm means domestic investors may have been buying on dips ... the key is whether they can smoothly take over the buyers' role from foreigners," Yano added. Persistent fund selling pushed gold below a key support at $548 an ounce in early deals to as low as $543.40, as the metal extended its retreat from a 25-year high of $574.60 hit earlier this month. "I don't know what the bottom price is," said a dealer in Singapore. "It could be $535. From a technical point of view, it's better to sell after it failed to stay above $570, but the overall trend is still bullish." Base metals also were weaker, having been hit hard by fund selling last week. Most Shanghai aluminium futures plunged by their daily limits and copper contracts dipped to near their limits, although volume was thin due to uncertainty. "Most people are not sure whether it's a correction or an end of the current bullish trend," said Shen Haihua, vice president of Southwest Futures in Shanghai. Oil took its losses since late-January to 10 percent, as growing U.S. inventories overshadowed concerns that tensions in the Middle East could disrupt supplies. Oil was a major topic at a meeting in Moscow of finance ministers from the world's wealthiest nations, with concern expressed not only about the cost of energy but also the stability of supplies. The dollar was largely steady around 117.90 yen in Asian trade, not far from seven-week highs of 119.40 hit earlier this month. "There are a lot of investors out there looking to buy the dollar on dips," said Tohru Sasaki, forex strategist in Tokyo for JPMorgan Chase. "And many investors expect a hawkish Bernanke this week."