The Nikkei 225 plunged 5% as investors aggressively sold chipmaker and AI-related stocks, erasing weeks of gains in a single session. The selloff marks one of the sharpest daily declines for Japan’s benchmark index this year, and it sent shockwaves across Asian equity markets.
The damage report
The carnage was broad but concentrated in Japan’s most prominent tech and semiconductor names. SoftBank Group shares fell nearly 7% in a single session. Tokyo Electron, the country’s largest chipmaking equipment manufacturer, declined over 5%.
Advantest, which supplies testing equipment for the world’s most advanced chips, dropped more than 6%. Renesas Electronics, a major automotive and industrial chipmaker, shed 4%.
In a prior session, the Nikkei had already closed at 66,835 after a 2.79% drop. The index has now posted multiple daily declines ranging from 2% to nearly 5% across June and July.
