Asia-Pacific markets closed mostly lower Wednesday, tracking Wall Street declines as concerns about artificial intelligence valuations continued to pressure tech stocks.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 lost 165.26 points, or 0.3%, to 48,537.70.
The technology sector had dragged the Nikkei 225 index sharply lower in early trading, led by semiconductor testing equipment maker Advantest which fell more than 4%, before paring losses to close 0.57% lower. Semiconductor firm Renesas ended the session down 3.02%.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng let go of 99.38 points, or 0.4%, to 25,380.65.
Hong Kong-listed shares of Xiaomi fell more than 4% after the Chinese tech company on Tuesday warned of higher smartphone prices in 2026, on the back of rising costs of memory chips to meet skyrocketing AI demand.
Korean markets dipped, index heavyweights Samsung Electronics fell 1.3% and SK Hynix extended declines to end 1.4% lower.
In other markets
The CSI 300 in Shanghai progressed 20.1 points, or 0.4%, to 4,588.29
In Korea, the Kospi turfed 24.11 points, or 0.6%, to 3,928.51.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index inched higher 0.55 points to 4,505.22
In Taiwan, the Taiex slipped 176 points, or 0.7%, to 26,580.12
In Australia, the ASX 200 dipped 21.26 points, or 0.3%, to 8,447.86.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 fell 15.92 points, or 0.1%, to 13,26.90
