Tokyo: The Japanese Nikkei index experienced a decline on Thursday, driven by a downturn in technology stocks as concerns about valuations persisted. These worries were compounded by increasing investment costs in artificial intelligence, which contributed to a broader decrease in Asian markets.

According to Qatar News Agency, the Nikkei fell 0.9 percent, closing at 53,818.04 points. The broader Topix index also saw a slight decrease, slipping 0.1 percent to 3,652.41 points. Notably, shares of SoftBank Group dropped by 7 percent, and semiconductor stocks experienced declines during early trading in Tokyo. Rohm, a prominent chipmaker, witnessed its shares plummet by 9.1 percent, marking it as the worst performer on the Nikkei. Additionally, shares of sector supplier Advantest fell by 4.8 percent, and Disco, a manufacturer of chipmaking equipment, saw its shares decline by 4.4 percent.

In contrast, the pharmaceuticals sector emerged as the best-performing sector among the 33 sub-indices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. This was largely due to Astellas Pharma, whose shares surged by 10 percent after the company significantly raised its forecast for net profit for the current fiscal year by approximately fivefold.