Japan's Nikkei briefly plunges over 7 pct, falls below 60,000 on AI regulation worries-Xinhua - 新华网

TOKYO, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock index briefly plunged more than 7 percent Friday morning, falling below the 60,000 mark for the first time since May, amid renewed concerns that tighter artificial intelligence regulations could curb investment in data centers following the U.S. midterm elections.

At the morning close, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average was down 3,219.29 points, or 5.27 percent, from Thursday at 57,858.61.

The broader Topix index, meanwhile, fell 213.89 points, or 5.43 percent, to 3,726.50.

Tokyo stocks tracked overnight losses on Wall Street, where technology shares tumbled amid concerns that Democratic gains in the U.S. midterm elections could lead to tighter restrictions on data center construction, while broader selling across the Japanese market reflected growing uncertainty over the economic and political outlook, analysts said. ■