Nikkei closes at its lowest level in more than five weeks

Japan’s Nikkei closed at a more than five-week low on Monday as energy and chip-related shares led losses as investors struggled to find signs of market action due to a holiday in the United States.

The Nikkei index fell 0.74 percent to 25,771.22 points, its lowest closing level since May 12, after gaining as much as 0.7 percent in early trading.

The broader Topix index fell 0.92 percent to close at 1818.94 points.

Shares of oil exploration companies fell 9.13 percent and led the losses of 33 industrial sub-indexes in the Tokyo Stock Exchange after oil prices fell during the weekend.

Shares of oil refiners fell 5.5 percent, with Ineos Holding and Idemitsu Kosan losing 5.05 percent and 7.05 percent, respectively.

Wafer equipment maker Tokyo Electron fell 5.2 percent, and Shin-Etsu Chemical shares fell 6.39 percent.

Shares of auto and auto parts makers rose after the yen fell against the dollar over the weekend.

The volume of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange reached 1.22 billion, compared to an average of 1.36 billion in the past 30 days.