Japan's Nikkei surrenders early gain as tech shares fall

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19/05/2026 04:01

By Junko Fujita

TOKYO, May 19 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average reversed early gains to fall on Tuesday as technology heavyweights tracked overnight declines in their U.S. peers, even as positive data prompted investors to buy economically sensitive stocks.

The Nikkei .N225 fell 0.64% to 60,429.76 by the midday break, after rising more than 1% earlier in the session. The index is set to fall for a fourth straight session.

The broader Topix .TOPX rose 0.37% to 3,840.7.

"The market is trying to determine how much longer the declines of U.S. technology stocks will continue," said Yugo Tsuboi, chief strategist at Daiwa Securities.

"Investors also want to see the outcome of Nvidia earnings."

The Nasdaq and the benchmark S&P 500 closed lower on Monday as investors took some profits in technology stocks. .N

Nvidia NVDA.O, the world's most valuable company, is scheduled to report results on Wednesday. The chipmaker was the S&P 500's biggest index-point drag on Monday, falling 1.3%.

In Japan, chip-testing equipment maker Advantest 6857.T fell 4.76% to drag the Nikkei lower the most. Technology investor SoftBank Group 9984.T slipped 3.56% and chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron 8035.T lost 2.96%.

Memory maker Kioxia 285A.T fell 4.24%.

Fibre optic cable makers fell, with Fujikura 5803.T and Furukawa Electric 5801.T down 5.75% and 7.6%, respectively.

Value shares rose after data showed Japan's economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter on solid exports and consumption.

"The growth was led by consumption. The market confirmed the strength of domestic demand," said Daiwa's Tsuboi.

     Topix's value share index .TOPXV rose 0.62% against a 0.1% rise in the growth stock index .TOPXG.

Bank shares rose, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group 8306.T and Mizuho Financial Group 8411.T climbing more than 3% each.

Of more than 1,600 stocks on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's prime market, 70% rose, 28% fell and 1% traded flat.

(Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)

((junko.fujita@thomsonreuters.com;))