Tech rout drags Wall Street, sends Nikkei down nearly 3%
What's new: A 5% drop in the US semiconductor index pushed Japan chip shares sharply lower as bond yields hit multiyear highs.
Wall Street closed lower Tuesday and Japan's Nikkei tumbled nearly 3% on Wednesday as a jump in bond yields sparked a broad sell-off in technology shares, especially semiconductors. The S&P 500 fell 0.69%, the Nasdaq dropped 1.33% and the Dow lost 0.22%. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index sank 5%, with Nvidia down 2.3% and Micron Technology off 7%. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 slid 2.97% and the Topix lost 2.72%, with Kioxia Holdings down 10.25% and SoftBank Group off 6.47%. The move followed higher oil prices tied to Middle East tensions, which lifted US 30-year Treasury yields to their highest level since 2007 and pressured richly valued AI-linked stocks.