Japan's Nikkei slumps 2% as tech shares tumble, overwhelming broader market gains

TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average sank 2% on Thursday, as heavyweight tech stocks tracked losses in Wall Street peers, outweighing gains in most stocks amid lower crude oil prices on hopes of a Middle East peace deal.

The tech-heavy Nikkei fell just over 2% at one point, and was 1.8% lower for the day at 85,108.28 at 0133 GMT.

Of its 225 components, 71 declined versus 152 that rose and two that traded flat. Heavily weighted AI-related plays dropped after the overnight slide in US-listed chipmaker AMD and SpaceX as concerns about massive AI spending flared again.

AI-focused startup investor SoftBank Group slid 6.6%, chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron skidded 6.3% and chip-testing tool manufacturer Advantest slipped 4.2%.

By comparison, the broader Topix shed a relatively small 0.4%.

“Because these semiconductor-related stocks have a high impact on the index, the selloff looks harsh at first glance but overall market sentiment hasn’t deteriorated drastically,” said Wataru Akiyama, an equities strategist at Nomura Securities, adding that the broader market was buoyed by the decline in oil.

The Topix foods index rose 2.3% to be the best performer among the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s 33 industry groupings, with sauce maker Kikkoman surging more than 12% after favourable earnings.

Other standouts included healthcare equipment maker OMRON, with a 15% rally, and Tokai Carbon, which advanced more than 14%.

SoftBank Group reports results after the market close, along with Nintendo, which was last up 1.3%.