Tokyo, December 16 (QNA) - Japan's stock indexes closed lower at the end of trading on Tuesday.
The Nikkei index ended trading down 1.6 percent, reaching 49,373.25 points at the close, affected by declines in semiconductor stocks and other companies linked to artificial intelligence, with the index falling below the 50,000-point level for the first time since Dec. 3.
The broader Topix index also lost 1.8 percent, recording 3,370.50 points.
Shares of Yaskawa Electric dropped 7 percent, and Fujikura, a maker of data-center cables, fell 6.7 percent, making those two companies the biggest decliners on the Nikkei. Renesas, a chip manufacturer, slid 5.1 percent, and Shin-Etsu Chemical dropped 4.1 percent.
Shares of a number of Japan's largest technology companies saw smaller declines after sharp losses on Monday.
SoftBank Group, which focuses on artificial intelligence, declined 1.7 percent, recovering from an earlier drop of 4.5 percent after falling 6 percent in the prior session. Advantest, a chip-testing equipment maker and supplier to Nvidia, slipped 1.4 percent after a 6.6 percent drop on Monday.
Among the 225 stocks in the Nikkei, 188 fell, 36 rose, and one was unchanged. (QNA)