The Nikkei was flat on Monday 6 with falls in chip firms offset by a shift of funds into banks and others that make the stake of their profits in the domestic economy. The TOPIX index was sent up on 0.27%. Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd., Advantest Corp. and other chip-related companies lost ground on concern their stock prices had benefited too quickly in present sessions. However, gainers pushed the TOPIX higher. "Investors are clearly concerned that the market has advanced too quickly. So the high-tech stocks are now being sold off," a senior strategist at Toyo Securities Co. Ltd. Katsuhiko Kodama said. The broader TOPIX index was up 0.28% at 1,588.21. Advantest, the world's biggest maker of microchip-testing devices, fell 1.1% to 11,400 yen. It becomes the biggest contributor to the Nikkei's fall. Since the beginning of the November its shares have gained 35%.

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