TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average slid on Friday, dragged lower by chip-related stocks on concerns about continued investments by major tech players.
Shortly before Asian markets opened, US President Donald Trump slapped dozens of trading partners with steep tariffs, further damping demand for risk assets.
Tech heavyweight Tokyo Electron plunged 18%, the most in almost a year, after the chip equipment maker slashed its profit forecast, citing changes in spending plans by semiconductor companies. Chip-testing equipment maker Advantest dropped 1.3%.
The Nikkei 225 Index closed 0.6% lower, capping off a weekly decline of 1.6%.
The broader Topix edged up 0.2%, largely on the back of gains in utility stocks.
US shares slid overnight, with artificial intelligence-related companies such as Nvidia weighing on the PHLX semiconductor index.
“Semiconductor-related stocks with high price-to-book ratios started with a selling bias,” said Maki Sawada, an equities strategist at Nomura Securities.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.