Japan's Nikkei slips after sharp gain as software firms slump

By Junko Fujita

TOKYO, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average fell on Wednesday, a day after it logged a sharp gain, as software developers tracked a selloff in their global peers.

The Nikkei .N225 fell 0.78% to 54,293.36. It climbed nearly 4% to a record high on Tuesday, its biggest daily gain since October 25.

The broader Topix .TOPX ended 0.27% higher at 3,655.58.

Software and system developers fell, with NEC 6701.T tanking 11.79%. Nomura Research 4307.T and Fujitsu 6702.T losing more than 7% each.

A significant selloff among U.S. and European data analytics, professional services and software companies deepened overnight, with some investors pointing to a recently updated artificial intelligence chatbot by Anthropic as the main culprit.

"These local companies did not react to a selloff of software firms that took place some time ago in the U.S. But finally today they were hit by the wave," said Shuutarou Yasuda, a market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Intelligence Laboratory.

Chip-related shares fell, with Advantest 6857.T and Tokyo Electron 8035.T losing more than 2% each and dragging the Nikkei the most.

Recruit Holdings 6098.T, which owns job-searching firm Indeed, slumped 10%.

Nintendo 7974.T fell 10.98% after maintaining its annual earnings and hardware forecasts. The "Super Mario" maker on Tuesday posted a 23% jump in quarterly profit on robust sales of its Switch 2 console.

Ibiden 4062.T, a maker of high-performance electronics and ceramics, tanked 14% to become the worst percentage loser on the Nikkei.

Of the more than 1,600 stocks trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's prime market, 66% rose, 30% fell, and 2% traded flat.

Fibre optic cable makers rose, with Furukawa Electric 5801.T and Fujikura 5803.T jumping 7.3% and 4.7%, respectively.