Mumbai, Jan. 27 -- Japanese markets fell sharply as a slump in tech stocks overshadowed gains in the financial sector. The Nikkei average dipped 0.92 percent to 39,565.80 while the broader Topix index settled 0.26 percent higher at 2,758.07.

Technology stocks such as Tokyo Electron, SoftBank Group, Advantest and Fujikura plunged 5-11 percent amid DeepSeek's emergence as a disruptive force in the AI landscape.

Chinese firm DeepSeek's artificial intelligence chatbot has soared to the top of the Apple Store's download charts, casting doubt on Silicon Valley's hefty AI capex spending and the sustainability of the US technical edge in artificial intelligence.

Lender Mitsubishi UFJ Financial gained 0.7 percent while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial...