Japan’s Nikkei index falls 2% with Advantest and Tokyo Electron falling

Japan’s Nikkei index closed down 2 percent on Friday, with chip-related shares Advantest and Tokyo Electron falling after gains in US-listed Nvidia stock stalled.

The Nikkei index fell 2.05 percent to close at 31,624.28 points, the biggest daily decline in more than three weeks, but it achieved a weekly gain of 0.55 percent.

The broader Topix index fell 0.88% to 2266.40, with a weekly loss of 1.3%.

Nvidia shares settled at the end of trading on Thursday, after rising to a record high, with the company announcing a plan to buy back shares worth $ 25 billion and record quarterly revenues, supported by strong demand for its chips that focus on artificial intelligence.

Japan’s chip testing equipment maker Advantest fell 9.99 percent, chipmaking equipment maker Tokyo Electron Co fell 5.93 percent and its peer Screen Holdings fell 3.44 percent. Technology investment group SoftBank fell 3.05 percent.

Of the 33 sub-indices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, only three indices rose, with the shipping sector index rising 0.15 percent.

Medical equipment maker Olympus rose 1.03 percent, the best performer on the Nikkei index.