Japan's Nikkei index fell sharply on Tuesday, after reaching a 33-year high, as some investors rushed to sell stocks to lock in profits, after the index posted gains for eight consecutive days.
stock movements
The Nikkei index started the trading day strongly and reached a new peak at 31,352.53 points, a level last recorded in August 1990.
But it pared gains after a mid-day break, with more investors selling shares to take profits.
The declines followed quickly, pushing the index down by 0.83 percent, before ending the session down 0.42 percent at 30,957.77 points.
Toyota Motor shares plunged 4.77 percent in the last moments of trading, becoming the biggest loser on the Nikkei index.
The broader Topix index fell by 0.66 percent to 2,161.49 points.
Chipmaking equipment giant Tokyo Electron fell 2.57%, while Advantest fell 1.67%.
But there were more resilient chip-related stocks such as Trend Micro and Renesas Electronics, which were among the biggest gainers on the Nikkei index, rising 2.94 and 2.21 percent, respectively.
