Overview
- Tokyo's benchmark moved sharply lower in the morning session after heavy selling in AI-linked and semiconductor stocks pushed large-cap names down by large amounts.
- Major equipment makers Tokyo Electron and Advantest were among the notable decliners and their drops weighed heavily on the Nikkei because the index is concentrated in a few top contributors.
- Broader measures told a different story as TOPIX held slightly higher, showing the weakness was concentrated in a small group of large caps rather than across the whole market.
- Investors rotated into beaten-down sectors such as airlines and automakers, which rose on perceived cheap valuations and helped support wider market breadth.
- The move highlights how swings in U.S. markets can quickly transmit to Tokyo and why the Nikkei can swing more than broader indices when a few big tech names fall.