(Updates with closing prices)

TOKYO, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average

ended at a five-month low on Friday, as chip-related stocks

tracked Nvidia's ( NVDA ) sharp overnight declines, with Advantest ( ADTTF )

tanking nearly 9%.

The Nikkei index fell below 37,000 for the first time since

September 19 and hit a low of 36,840.12 in intraday trade.

The index closed 2.88% lower at 37,155.5, its lowest close

since September 19, in its biggest daily fall since September

30.

The broader Topix lost 1.98% to 2,682.09.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended sharply lower overnight,

weighed down by an 8.5% slump in chipmaker Nvidia ( NVDA ) after

its quarterly report failed to rekindle Wall Street's AI rally,

while investors focused on data pointing to a cooling U.S.

economy.

"Investors had some hope on chip-related shares after seeing

Nvidia's ( NVDA ) outlook in the previous session, but they dumped those

today after seeing the market reaction to Nvidia ( NVDA )," said Seiichi

Suzuki, chief equity market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Intelligence

Laboratory.

Japanese chip-related stocks, key components of the index,

showed mixed movements in the last session, as they awaited

Nvidia's ( NVDA ) performance on Wall Street. The Nikkei gained 0.3% on

Thursday.

Overnight, Nvidia ( NVDA ) tumbled 8.5% after the Silicon Valley

company gave a weaker-than-expected quarterly forecast for gross

margin that overshadowed an upbeat revenue outlook.

In Japan, chip-testing equipment maker Advantest ( ADTTF ), a

supplier to Nvidia ( NVDA ), tanked 8.78% to drag Nikkei the most.

Chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron ( TOELF ) slipped

4.45%.

Fujikura ( FKURF ), which makes cables for data centres,

slipped 7.32%, while its peer Furukawa Electric ( FUWAF ) lost

5.9%.

Nikkei's gains this year have been capped by worries about

the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats and

concerns about the Bank of Japan's interest rate policy.

"Today, the market had another blow," said Suzuki.

"But the losses of the Topix are smaller than the Nikkei's.

So the question is whether we see the Nikkei index or Japanese

equities overall."

Convenience store operator Seven & I Holdings rose

1.23% to become one of the 20 stocks that rose on the Nikkei,

after tanking 11.7% in the previous session.

Of the 225 components on the index, 203 stocks fell and two

were flat.