Nikkei tracks overnight losses on Wall Street; tech shares slide

TOKYO: Japanese shares tracked overnight declines in Wall Street, with investors selling tech-related shares after a sharp rally recently.

The Nikkei share average fell 1.07% to 28,327.64 by 0202 GMT. The broader Topix slid 0.81% to 1,845.01.

"Today's market is tracking the US stock markets. The rise in the stock volatility index is also prompting investors to sell down," said Yoshihiro Takeshige, general manager at investment management department of Asahi Life Asset Management.

US stocks suffered their biggest one-day percentage drop in three months on Wednesday following the latest Fed statement, a slump in shares of Boeing and selling of long positions by hedge funds.

In addition, rising coronavirus cases and uneven distribution of vaccine rollouts have increased investor anxiety, sending the CBOE Market Volatility index to its highest since Oct 30.

Back home, chip-related shares fell, with Renesas Electronics losing 4.56%, Alps Alpine falling 3.35% and Advantest sliding 3.17%.

Media and internet advertising company CyberAgent fell 8.52%, making it the biggest loser on the Nikkei index.

Nikkei's heavy weights also declined, with SoftBank Group sinking 4.15%, Tokyo Electron losing 2.62% and Fast Retailing falling 0.12%.

Fanuc gained 1.55% after it raised its operating profit forecast for a second time to 105.8 billion yen ($1.01 billion), a 19.8% increase from a year earlier.

The largest percentage gainer on the index was Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd, up 6.77%, followed by Mitsubishi Motors Corp that rose 5.91% and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha up 5.44%.