Japan's Nikkei ends more than 2% lower on AI spending worries

Shares supported by domestic demand rose, with East Japan Railway 9020.T and West Japan Railway 9021.T rising nearly 2% each. Central Japan Railway 9022.T, which runs bullet trains between Tokyo and Osaka, rose 1.62%.

Otsuka Holdings 4578.T, a maker of Pocari Sweat, climbed 2.2% to become the top percentage gainer on the Nikkei.

Of the more than 1,500 stocks trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's prime market, 40% rose, 56% fell and 3% traded flat.

Chip-related shares fell, with Advantest 6857.T and Tokyo Electron 8035.T losing 6.02% and 4.99%, respectively.

Technology investor SoftBank Group 9984.T fell 7.06% and memory chip maker Kioxia 285A.T lost 9.49%.

Japan's Nikkei share average ended more than 2% lower on Friday as a sharp decline in Google parent Alphabet's shares spurred concerns about heavy AI spending.

The Nikkei .N225 fell 2.73% to close at 64,611.15, but rose 0.7% for the week after a 6.4% fall in the previous week. The broader Topix .TOPX slipped 1.05% to 4,011.31.

The Nikkei has lost nearly 8% so far this month, tumbling into correction territory last week. Its moves have been heavily influenced by the tech-heavy South Korean benchmark KOSPI .KS11 and the U.S. Philadelphia semiconductor index .SOX.

Shares of Alphabet GOOGL.O sank 7% overnight after the company reported higher spending plans while it also burned cash. Wall Street indexes closed lower, with the Nasdaq .IXIC shedding more than 2%.