Japan's Nikkei share average closed lower and remained near a record high on Monday, pressured by a slide in chip-related stocks following losses in their U.S. counterparts on Friday.
The Nikkei average fell 0.04 percent to end the day at 38,470.38, after rising to 38,865.06 on Friday. It was 93 points away from an all-time high hit on the last trading day of 1989 at the height of Japan’s bubble economy.
The broader Topix index outperformed, up 0.57 percent.
Chip heavyweights Advantest and Tokyo Electron were the biggest losers on the Nikkei, falling 60 and 55 points respectively, or 3.2 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.
Nintendo was the biggest percentage loser, down 5.8 percent.
SoftBank, which focuses on investing in artificial intelligence, bucked the trend and rose 47 points, or 2.8 percent, after a media report that founder Masayoshi Son is looking to raise up to $100 billion for a chip project.
Banks and other financial companies gained, as higher bond yields boosted their profitability. The banking sector was the best performer among 33 industry groups on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, jumping 2.9 percent.
