TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average fell on Friday, as the tumble in chip-related shares accelerated tracking a sell-off in US peers.
Domestic semiconductor industry giants, Tokyo Electron and Advantest, each plunged more than 5% in the morning session to shave 180 index points from the Nikkei between them.
The Nikkei slipped 0.22% - or a net 73 points - to 32,417.92 as of the midday recess. By contrast, the broader Topix, which has a lower concentration of tech shares, added 0.26.
Chip component maker Screen Holdings and chip maker Renesas Electronics tumbled along with their bigger peers, losing more than 3% each.
That followed a 3.6% drop in the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index overnight, its worst day this year.
However, Daiwa Securities strategist Kenji Abe said he continues to prefer growth- over value stocks over the medium term.
“Inflation seems to be peaking out in the US and the Federal Reserve is very close to the end of the hiking cycle, so I expect the US long-term rate will decline going forward, which is positive for growth stocks,” he said.
Abe expects the Nikkei to keep to a narrow range next week, when the Fed and the Bank of Japan both set policy, and Japan’s earnings season moves into high gear.
Japan’s Nikkei snaps two-day winning streak amid chip stock slide
Towards the year-end though, the Nikkei could rise to 34,000, he predicted.
Friday’s big losses for chip stocks overshadowed a surge in motor maker Nidec’s shares, which gained 8.7% after positive after-the-bell earnings.
Healthcare rose 1.47% to be the best performer among the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s 33 industry groups.
Daiichi Sankyo gained 1.89% after its blood cancer treatment got a nod from the US FDA. Takeda Pharmaceutical jumped 1.95%.
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