The Nikkei fell 3.6% to 69,788.38, hitting a one-week low and closing below 70,000 for the first time since last Wednesday.
Broader topics fell 2.6% to 3,990.38.
The pullback follows a powerful rally driven by continued buying in AI and semiconductor stocks, which pushed the Nikkei near 72,000 for the first time on Monday, just two sessions after it breached 71,000.
“After a series of gains, the market seems to be taking some profits,” said Masahiro Ichikawa, chief market strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management.
Market breadth remained weak, with the Nikkei falling 184 against 41 advancers at 225.
AI-related stocks, which have powered the market’s recent rally, led losses ahead of Micron Technology’s earnings announcement. Memory chipmaker Kioxia fell 15.1% while tech investment giant SoftBank Group sank 10.1%. Cable and optical fiber maker Fujikura rose 5.3%.
In other notable losses, cable and components maker Furukawa Electric fell 15.5%, while non-ferrous metals maker Mitsui Kinzoku shed 12.6%.
Defensive names saw some gains, with dairy and confectionery maker Meiji Holdings up 3.5% and logistics company Nichirei up 3.1%.
The Nikkei’s 14-day Relative Strength Index was at 73 on Monday, above the 70 level, indicating overbought conditions, signaling overheating, before technical indicators eased to 61.1 on Tuesday.
“The market had already been looking hot for quite some time as rich value names continued to rise, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see a correction anytime soon,” Ichikawa said. “Today, sales appeared to be piling up.”
(You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel)
