Investing.com-- Japan's Nikkei 225 index approached bear-market territory on Friday, as a deepening global selloff in artificial intelligence and semiconductor stocks triggered another wave of heavy selling in technology-heavy Japanese companies.
The Nikkei fell 6.2% to 57,320.01 points by 01:50 GMT, extending losses after Thursday's 1.8% decline, reaching its lowest close in more than five months.
The latest drop put the index more than 20% below its June 22 record peak of 72,831.73, meeting the conventional definition of a bear market.
Semiconductor-related shares led the retreat, tracking a sharp overnight selloff on Wall Street. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunged more than 12% on Thursday, its steepest intraday decline since March 2020, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 5.5%.
In Japan, Advantest (TYO:6857) shares plunged 9%, while SoftBank Group (TYO:9984) tumbled 11% and Kioxia Holdings (TYO:285A) lost 10%. The selling followed Thursday's steep declines, when Advantest slumped 15%, Lasertec dropped 14%, and Kioxia fell 13%.
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