(Updates prices, adds comments)
TOKYO, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average
fell to a five-month low on Friday as chip-related stocks
tracked Nvidia's ( NVDA ) sharp overnight declines, with Advantest ( ADTTF )
tanking more than 8%.
The Nikkei fell 2.7% to 37,237.49 as of 0116 GMT,
while the broader Topix lost 1.9% to 2,683.9.
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 8.8% to drag Nikkei the most.
Chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron ( TOELF ) slipped
3.8%.
Fujikura ( FKURF ), which makes cables for data centres,
slipped 8.8%, while its peer Furukawa Electric ( FUWAF ) lost
5.5%.
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."
Of the more than 1,600 stocks trading on the Tokyo Stock
Exchange's prime market, 14% rose, 82% fell and 2% traded flat.