Nikkei slumps sharply as tech sell-off spreads

[TOKYO] Japan’s Nikkei share gauge slumped sharply on Wednesday (Aug 19), tracking a sharp sell-off in technology shares on Wall Street overnight.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 2.97 per cent to 65,459.71 in early trading. The broader Topix slipped 2.72 per cent to 4,027.56.

Major US share indexes closed lower as dimming expectations for a Middle East peace deal damped risk appetite.

Oil prices rose while government bonds around the world fell, driving yields sharply higher. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index tracking US tech shares, plunged 5 per cent.

“Rising long-term interest rates heightened perceptions that growth stocks were overvalued, and declines in tech stocks, particularly in the semiconductor sector, drove the indices lower,” Sony Financial Group analysts said in a report.

There were 46 advancers on the Nikkei 225 against 178 decliners and 1 unchanged. The biggest losers were chipmaker Kioxia Holdings, down 10.25 per cent, followed by Furukawa Electric, down 10.10 per cent, and Pan Pacific International, dropping 9.75 per cent.

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European stocks drops to two-week low on higher bond yields, Middle East uncertainty

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SoftBank Group, a major investor in AI, retreated 6.47 per cent. The largest percentage gainers on the Nikkei were Mercari, up 5.28 per cent, followed by Shiseido, up 2.56 per cent, and Otsuka Holdings, which gained 1.91 per cent. REUTERS