Tokyo stocks dropped further Thursday amid continuing bearish sentiment stemming from rising U.S. inflation worries. The 225-issue Nikkei average of the Tokyo Stock Exchange plummeted 699.50 points, or 2.49%, to finish at 27,448.01, closing below the psychologically important threshold of 28,000 for the first time since Jan. 29. The key market gauge tumbled 461.08 points Wednesday. The Topix index of all TSE first section issues ended 28.91 points, or 1.54%, lower at 1,849.04, following a 27.97-point drop the previous day. The market met with selling from the outset, after all three major U.S. stock market gauges extended their losses on Wednesday. A faster-than-expected rise in the U.S. consumer price index for April, announced the same day, incited investors’ worries over a possible shift in the Federal Reserve’s monetary easing policy.