TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average fell to close at a fresh two-month low on Wednesday, as investors sold off chip-linked shares ahead of major US tech earnings, while renewed fighting in the Middle East dampened risk appetite.
Asian chipmakers have been highly volatile recently, as doubts over returns from AI companies’ heavy spending emerge amid intensifying Chinese competition.
The tech-heavy Nikkei closed 1.49 percent lower at 61,434.19, after sinking as much as 3.07 percent earlier, extending the previous session’s more-than 4 percent plunge. The gauge is down about 15 percent from a record high close hit last month.
The broader Topix rose 0.26 percent to 3,974.03. Semiconductor equipment maker Screen Holdings plunged 17.25 percent, its biggest percentage drop since January 2020. Memory chipmaker Kioxia plummeted 13.85 percent, extending its losing streak to a fifth session and bringing its losses over the period to about 40 percent.
The Nikkei’s loss came after South Korea’s tech-heavy KOSPI ended 6 percent lower in volatile trade and the US Philadelphia semiconductor index fell nearly 4.5 percent overnight on Tuesday.
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