Japan's Nikkei falls as tech stocks track Wall Street lower

By Junko Fujita

TOKYO, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average ended lower on Monday after two sessions of gains, as technology stocks tracked Wall Street's weak finish last week and some big stocks traded ex-dividend.

The Nikkei .N225 fell 0.44% to 50,526.92, while the broader Topix .TOPX inched 0.1% higher to 3,426.52.

All three major U.S. stock indexes .DJI, .SPX, .IXIC closed nominally lower on Friday, snapping a five-session rally. .N

In Japan, chip-related heavyweights fell, with Advantest 6857.T and Tokyo Electron 8035.T losing 2.3% and 0.29%, respectively.

Air conditioning maker Daikin Industries 6367.T fell 2.02%.

The Nikkei slipped as some large stocks with higher dividend payouts went ex-dividend, said Seiichi Suzuki, chief equity market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute.

Japan Tobacco 2914.T fell 1.6%, while tyre maker Bridgestone 5108.T slipped 1.23%. Their financial year closes in December.

The Topix's rubber maker index .IRUBR.T slipped 1.4% to become the worst performer among the 33 industry sub-indexes.

Banks rose as the Bank of Japan's summary of opinions showed that policymakers debated the need to keep raising interest rates even after the hike in December.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group 8306.T gained 0.44%, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group 8316.T and Mizuho Financial Group 8411.T rose 0.39% and 0.71%, respectively.

The Topix's value share index .ITOPXV edged up 0.36%, while the growth share index .ITOPXG slipped 0.18%.

Value shares, which pay higher dividends than growth stocks, tend to rise in January as retail investors buy those stocks to include in their Nippon Individual Savings Account (NISA) programme at the start of the year, said Suzuki.

The NISA is expanding as it exempts retail investors from paying capital gains taxes on stock holdings.

Of the more than 1,600 stocks trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's prime market, 61% rose, 34% fell and 2% traded flat.