TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average slid for a second day on Wednesday, coming off of record highs, dragged lower by chip-related companies.
The Nikkei 225 Index lost 1.5% to 42,888.55 at the close. The broader Topix gauge fell 0.6%.
SoftBank Group plunged 7.1%, while Advantest, which makes chip-testing equipment, lost 5.7%.
The losses followed the tech-heavy Nasdaq sinking in US trading overnight, with Nvidia sliding 3.5%, the biggest drop in nearly four months.
The US government wants an equity stake in Intel in exchange for cash grants approved during the previous administration, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Tuesday. That comes on the heels of SoftBank’s $2 billion investment in the struggling US chipmaker that was announced on Monday.
“Concerns about government intervention in the semiconductor sector could weigh on US high-tech stocks and, by extension, Japanese semiconductor-related shares,” said Nomura strategist Fumika Shimizu.
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