Tokyo: Japan's Nikkei share average fell to a three-week low on Monday as chip-related stocks slumped, tracking a technology-led sell-off on Wall Street last Friday.

According to Qatar News Agency, the Nikkei dropped more than 2% to 41,849.82 at the midday break, after earlier touching 41,843.96, its lowest level since August 8.

More than half of the index's 869-point decline came from two heavyweight stocks: chip-testing equipment maker and Nvidia supplier Advantest, which plunged 9.1% (280 points), and SoftBank Group, an artificial intelligence-focused start-up investor, which lost 6.3% (202 points).

Out of the Nikkei 225 components, 128 fell, 95 gained, while two remained flat.