Nikkei 225 Plunges 4.44% as Yen Strengthens and Tech Stocks Slide

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average plummeted by 2,884.73 yen (4.44%) on February 28th, closing at 62,046.46 and teetering on the edge of the psychologically important 62,000-point level.

The sell-off was triggered by a slump in U.S. tech stocks and a strengthening yen, which led to a broad rout in Japanese semiconductor-related shares.

Advantest, Tokyo Electron, and SoftBank Group were among the biggest drags on the index, with Advantest single-handedly knocking 705.97 yen off the index.