Asian equities retreated on Wednesday as a sell-off in U.S. technology shares rippled across regional markets. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index shed 1.5% to close at 42,888.55, its second straight decline from record levels, while the broader Topix slipped 0.6%. Semiconductor and internet stocks led the slide amid caution over stretched valuations in the artificial-intelligence rally. SoftBank Group was the session’s biggest drag, plunging as much as 9.2% before finishing 7.1% lower. The investment group’s drop followed its announcement of a US$2 billion capital injection into Intel and came alongside steep losses in chip-equipment maker Advantest, down 5.7%. Similar weakness spread to technology counters in South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The regional slump tracked overnight losses on Wall Street, where the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.46% and the S&P 500 slipped 0.59%. AI bellwethers Nvidia and Palantir dropped 3.5% and 9.4%, respectively, amid mounting debate over whether the sector is in bubble territory after months of outsized gains. Traders are also paring risk ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s address at the Jackson Hole symposium on Friday. Futures pricing now implies a less certain chance of a September U.S. rate cut, contributing to the retreat in growth stocks and a defensive bias across global equity benchmarks.