TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average fell on Tuesday, reversing earlier gains, after investors took a rally in tech shares as an opportunity to lock in profits.
The tech-heavy Nikkei ended the day down 0.14 percent at 50,842.93, after earlier rising as much as 1.18 percent to a one-week high of 51,513.16.
The broader Topix eked out a 0.13 percent gain to 3,321.58.
Artificial intelligence-related shares led the Nikkei’s early advance after Wall Street peers rallied overnight amid optimism for an imminent end to the US government shutdown.
But the momentum ebbed in the afternoon, and the benchmark index was down as much as 0.65 percent at one point.
“There’s no single, big driving force” for stock gains, “and some traders are taking the opportunity to lock in profits”, said Maki Sawada, a strategist at Nomura Securities.
The Nikkei rallied to an all-time high of 52,636.87 a week ago, powered by both the global fervor over AI and hopes for fiscal stimulus under new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.