Japan's Nikkei Stock Average Falls a 2nd Day, Led Lower by Chip Shares
SoftBank Group 9984.T plunged 8.29% while Advantest 6857.T, a maker of chip-testing equipment, lost 5.4%.
The losses came after tech-heavy Nasdaq sank in U.S. trading overnight, with Nvidia NVDA.O sliding 3.5%, the biggest drop in nearly four months.
The Nikkei 225 Index .N225 lost 1.1% to 43,047.25 in early trading. The broader Topix .TOPX was down 0.2%.
There were 130 advancers on the Nikkei index against 92 decliners.
The Nikkei will likely ease off recent record highs toward year-end, according to strategists in a Reuters poll.
The index on Tuesday surpassed last week's previous intraday record to touch 43,876.42. It is forecast to slip back to 42,000 at the end of December, according to the median estimate of 18 analysts polled August 8-18.
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