Japanese stocks fall as tech sell-off continues

Japanese stocks ended sharply lower on Wednesday, with the Nikkei 225 Index falling 1.5% as technology shares remained under heavy selling pressure. Ongoing concerns about the sustainability of the artificial intelligence (AI) rally continued to weigh on investor sentiment.

The market also tracked overnight losses on Wall Street, where chipmakers led a broad decline. Major technology stocks in Japan, including Kioxia Holdings, Tokyo Electron, SoftBank Group, Murata Manufacturing, and Taiyo Yuden, posted steep losses.

Financial stocks also ended in negative territory, with Mitsubishi UFJ, Sumitomo Mitsui, and Mizuho Financial all closing lower, adding to the market's weakness.

Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions returned to focus after the US military said it intercepted a surprise Iranian attack targeting US troops in the Middle East. The renewed tensions pushed oil prices higher and added to the cautious mood in global markets.

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