Tech stocks slump drags down Nikkei Index; SoftBank plunges over 4% in tandem with Arm's share price

Glonghui, February 5th｜The Nikkei 225 Index fell 0.3% in early trading to 54,147.77 points, as declines in technology and electronics stocks offset gains in automobile and pharmaceutical stocks. SoftBank Group dropped 4.3% due to an overnight decline in its subsidiary Arm Holdings' share price. In addition, NEC fell 4.8%, and Advantest dropped 4.0%. Meanwhile, Mazda Motor rose 2.2%, and Chugai Pharmaceutical climbed 4.6%. The broader Topix Index rose 0.2% to 3,662.31 points. The USD/JPY exchange rate stood at 156.92, compared to 156.27 at the close of the Tokyo stock market on Wednesday. Investors are closely watching earnings reports, with Sony Group and NTT scheduled to release their results later on Thursday.