Tokyo, July 24 (Jiji Press)--Tokyo stocks slumped Friday on resurgent concerns over turmoil in the Middle East, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average briefly giving up more than 2,000 points. The index of 225 major issues listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Prime section finished the day down 1,811.45 points, or 2.72 pct, from Thursday at 64,611.15. Global market sentiment was dampened by renewed inflation fears after reports that Yemen's pro-Iran Houthi militants had attacked tankers in the Red Sea rekindled worries about global crude oil supply. "Short-term investors rushed to sell ahead of the weekend as they are increasingly aware of the risk of an escalation in the U.S.-Iran war," an official at a bank-affiliated securities brokerage said. Artificial intelligence-related issues particularly attracted selling. Investors stayed on the sidelines in the afternoon as they awaited next week's earnings releases by key Japanese and U.S. tech firms. Semiconductor testing device maker Advantest and chipmaking gear maker Tokyo Electron are set to announce their earnings on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, while Microsoft and Amazon.com are also slated to release earnings next week. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]