Japan's Nikkei slides as strong yen and Wall Street losses hit sentiment

By Brigid Riley

TOKYO, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average fell to its lowest in just over a month on Tuesday, as a stronger yen and Wall Street losses overnight weighed on sentiment.

The Nikkei .N225 shed 1.1% to 38,345.99 by the midday break, after sliding to its lowest level since January 17 in early trade. The broader Topix .TOPX was down 0.3% at 2,727.59.

Technology stocks were the heaviest weight on the Nikkei as the market opened after a holiday on Monday, tracking weakness in their U.S. peers. Chip-related shares Advantest 6857.T fell 4.9% and Tokyo Electron 8035.T declined 3.8%.

The Nasdaq closed down more than 1% on Monday, with big technology stocks creating the biggest drag as investors worried about demand for technology supporting artificial intelligence while they waited for results from market heavyweight Nvidia NVDA.O. .N

Meanwhile, Japanese exporters came under pressure after the yen touched its strongest level against the dollar since early December the previous day, although the currency softened on Tuesday. The dollar last fetched 149.95 yen JPY=EBS.

Investors were also sizing up a litany of tariff threats against trading partners from U.S. President Donald Trump, including on automobiles, steel and aluminium.

Elsewhere, Itochu 8001.T, Marubeni 8002.T, Mitsubishi Corp 8058.T, Mitsui 8031.T and Sumitomo Corp 8053.T surged after Warren Buffett said on Saturday that his conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway BRKa.N will likely increase its ownership in the five Japanese trading houses.

While Buffett's remarks appear to have bolstered the trading firms, a "modest increase" in Berkshire Hathaway's holdings is unlikely to alter overall sentiment on Japanese markets, said James Halse, managing director of Sydney-based Senjin Capital.

"The trading companies are more of a play on resource prices (and) global growth rather than a specific Japan exposure," he said.

Among other major shares, Uniqlo parent firm Fast Retailing 9983.T gave up 2.9%, AI-focused startup investor SoftBank Group 9984.T fell 3.2%, and automaker Toyota Motor 7203.T shed 0.7%.