Japan’s Nikkei index is at a 4-week low

Japan’s Nikkei average touched a four-week low on Wednesday, tracking a sell-off in technology stocks on Wall Street overnight, but gains in auto stocks helped limit losses.

The Nikkei closed down 0.72% at 27,686.40, after dropping earlier to 27,646.78 for the first time since November 10.

Tokyo Electron, which specializes in the chip industry, led the losers in both percentage and number of points, as it fell 3.78 percent, erasing 60 points from the Nikkei index. Rival Advantest shares also fell 1.47 percent.

The drop in crude oil prices overnight weighed on energy stocks, making them the worst-performing Nikkei sub-indices, down 1.29 percent. Inpex shares led the losses in the energy sector, down 1.62 percent.

The technology index was also one of the biggest losers, down 0.72 percent.

The broader Topix index ended down 0.1 percent at 1948.31, after earlier dropping to a four-week low at 1938.30.

Shares of car manufacturers rose, benefiting from the stability of the yen near 137 per dollar, after the currency retreated from its strongest level since mid-August, which was recorded last week, which enhances the value of proceeds from sales abroad.

Mazda rose 1.9 percent, Honda 0.76 percent and Toyota 0.44 percent.