On Tuesday, Japan's Nikkei share average plummeted over 2% to 38,405.58, marking its lowest point since March 14, amidst a broader decline in technology stocks which mirrored the downturn in U.S. markets.
The drop was partly due to a sharp increase in U.S. Treasury yields and escalating geopolitical tensions between Iran and Israel, factors that also influenced global markets. The broader Topix index also fell by 1.82% to 2,703.20 by midday.
Japanese technology stocks were among the hardest hit, with $Tokyo Electron (8035.JP)$ and $Advantest (6857.JP)$ seeing declines of 4.15% and 4.08% respectively. These key players in chip-making equipment significantly contributed to the Nikkei's downturn.
Additionally, Fast Retailing and J.Front Retailing experienced losses of 2.45% and 6.52%, respectively, the latter following a cut in its annual profit forecast.
Some firms bucked the downward trend. $Toho (9602.JP)$, a cinema operator, saw its shares surge by 6.92% after reporting a 35.5% increase in annual net profit and announcing a new share buyback program.
$Nidec (6594.JP)$ experienced a 6.17% jump after revealing plans to significantly expand production capacity in Thailand for water-cooling modules used in AI servers.
Overall, the majority of stocks on the Nikkei were down, with 204 out of 225 components seeing a decline. The day's trading reflected broader concerns affecting global financial markets, including U.S. economic indicators and ongoing geopolitical risks.