TOKYO, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks fell on Thursday, dragged down by heavyweight technology shares amid growing concern over the outlook for massive artificial intelligence (AI) investment in the United States.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended down 510.78 points, or 1.03 percent, from Wednesday at 49,001.50. The broader Topix index lost 12.50 points, or 0.37 percent, to 3,356.89.
Declines on the Prime Market were led by nonferrous metal, electric appliance and machinery stocks.
The Nikkei briefly plunged more than 800 points after the tech-heavy U.S. Nasdaq index tumbled overnight, following reports that Oracle Corp. will not receive funding from its main partner, Blue Owl Capital Inc., for a planned 10 billion U.S. dollars data center project.
Although Oracle has reportedly said the project remains on schedule, the news fueled fears of an AI bubble, with investors growing wary that investment in data centers may have become excessive, analysts said. ■
