The Nikkei's rally was driven by spillover from optimism over billionaire Warren Buffett eyeing increasing investments in the country. The broader Topix inched down 0.02% to 2,040.38. "Investors still believe the Nikkei will rise further to cross the close in the previous session soon, but they wanted to take a pause today," said Seiichi Suzuki, chief equity market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute. "To prove that, undervalued stocks continued to rise." The insurance sector rose 2.31% to become the top performer among the Tokyo Stock Exchange's 33 industry sub-indexes. The banking sector gained 1.16% and energy explorers and the steel sector gained 0.95%, respectively. Electronics component maker TDK lost 1.81% to become the biggest drag for the Nikkei. Chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron was flat and silicon wafer maker Shin-Etsu Chemical lost 0.53%.
Luxury toilet maker Lixil fell 3.4% after cutting its annual profit forecast for the second time.
Of the Nikkei components, 103 stocks advanced, while 110 fell and 12 were flat.
(Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
