Japanese stocks declined Wednesday as uncertainty over the Iran conflict and its economic implications persisted, with chip-related shares leading losses ahead of Nvidia's quarterly earnings. The Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.4% to 65595.13. Kioxia Holdings dropped 1.0% and Tokyo Electron declined 1.9%.

The dollar traded at 159.24 yen, compared with Y159.33 at Tuesday's Tokyo stock market close. Investors are closely watching developments in the Middle East after the U.S. launched what it described as an unprecedented campaign to cripple Iran's economy earlier this week.