Tokyo, February 05 (QNA) - The Japanese Nikkei index fell on Thursday, weighed down by declines in technology stocks amid ongoing concerns about valuations, as worries over rising investment costs in artificial intelligence deepened a broader downturn in Asian markets.

The Nikkei fell 0.9 percent, closing at 53,818.04 points, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.1 percent to 3,652.41 points.

Shares of SoftBank Group dropped 7 percent, while semiconductor stocks declined in early Tokyo trading. Rohm, the chipmaker, saw its shares plunge 9.1 percent, making it the worst performer on the Nikkei. Shares of sector supplier Advantest fell 4.8 percent, and shares of Disco, which manufactures chipmaking equipment, declined 4.4 percent.

The pharmaceuticals sector topped the list of the best-performing sectors among the 33 sub-indices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, led by Astellas Pharma, whose shares rose 10 percent after the company raised its forecast for net profit for the current fiscal year by about fivefold. (QNA)