Japan's Nikkei share average fell on Monday morning, dragged down by declines in technology shares after their US counterparts were sold off sharply on Friday. The Nikkei dropped 0.8 per cent to 19,848.60 in midmorning trade.

Semiconductor manufacturing equipment makers and Apple suppliers led the declines, with Tokyo Electron tumbling 3.5 per cent, Advantest Corp dropping 3.4 per cent, TDK Corp shedding 3.0 per cent and Taiyo Yuden declining 3.1 per cent.

On Friday, Apple Inc shares fell 3.9 per cent in their biggest daily percentage decline since April 2016 after a report that iPhones to be launched later this year will use modem chips with slower download speeds than some rival smartphones. “Since Japanese tech shares had chased strong performances on the Nasdaq, they will likely see a correction for now,” said Yutaka Miura, a senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities.

Meanwhile, a key focus for markets this week is the US Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting that ends on Wednesday in which it is expected to raise interest rates. Investors will focus on any fresh hints on the pace of further tightening in the near term and also next year, and any details on its plans to trim its balance sheet.

Elsewhere, financial stocks gained, helping the broader Topix outperform. It rose 0.1 per cent to 1,593.60. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group gained 1.0 per cent, Mizuho Financial Group added 1.4 per cent and insurer T&D Holdings soared 4.6 per cent.

Meanwhile, Toshiba Corp surged 7.5 per cent after a person familiar with the matter told Reuters that Western Digital Corp plans to raise its offer for Toshiba's prized semiconductor unit to $18 billion or more.

The JPX-Nikkei Index 400 gained 0.1 per cent to 14,189.50.

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