Japanese shares slipped on Thursday to close in the red as the sell-off in semiconductor stocks dragged down markets across Asia.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 closed down 1,915.97 points or 2.79%, at 66,835.54.
South Korea's Kospi fell 6%, led by a steep decline in SK Hynix Inc. and Samsung Electronics, raising questions over the sustainability of the artificial intelligence-driven rally.
Meanwhile, oil prices fell amid growing US-Iran hostilities, with Washington launching air strikes on Iranian infrastructure and Tehran targeting key US bases across the Gulf.
On the corporate side, S&P Global Ratings changed the outlook on SoftBank Group (TYO:9984) to stable from negative while maintaining its BB long-term issuer credit rating.
Also, Tokyo-based frozen food processing company Nichirei (TYO:2871) suffered a cyberattack, causing system failures on July 13, prompting the company to disconnect affected systems to protect customer and personal data, according to a Thursday filing with the Tokyo Stock Exchange.