TOKYO, March 14 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average

fell on Thursday, as heavyweight chip-related stocks tracked

U.S. peers' declines overnight, while gains in energy shares

limited the losses.

The Nikkei was down 0.18% at 38,625,22 by the midday

break, set for a fourth straight session of falls.

The broader Topix was little changed at 2,648.66.

"Japan's major chip stocks mirrored the weak performance of

U.S. chip stocks. It looks like the fever for Nvidia ( NVDA ) is over,"

said Shigetoshi Kamada, general manager at the research

department at Tachibana Securities.

"For the Nikkei to cross the 40,000 level again, Tokyo

Electron ( TOELF ) and its peers need to get a boost."

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq edged lower overnight as

investors took profits in chipmaker stocks. The index of

semiconductors lost 2.5%, with shares of Nvidia ( NVDA ).

which propelled a sharp rally in Japanese chip-related shares,

slipping 1.1%.

The Nikkei crossed 40,000 for the first time earlier this

month, driven by gains of chip-making equipment maker Tokyo

Electron ( TOELF ) and chip-testing equipment maker Advantest ( ADTTF )

.

On Thursday, Tokyo Electron ( TOELF ) and Advantest ( ADTTF ) lost 1.82% and

2.87%, respectively. Silicon-wafer maker Shin-Etsu Chemical ( SHECF )

lost 1.83%.

Refiners jumped 4.24% to become the top performer

among the 33 industry sub-indexes on the Tokyo Stock Exchange,

with Eneos Holdings ( JXHGF ) rising 5.14%.

Energy explorers rose 4.17%.

Nissan Motor ( NSANF ) rose 2.3% after a local television

network TV Tokyo reported that the automaker is considering

seeking a business partnership with Honda Motor ( HMC ), while

the Nikkei business daily said they could collaborate on

electric vehicles.

Honda ( HMC ) rose 0.98%.

Uniqlo-brand owner Fast Retailing ( FRCOF ) rose 1.2% to

become the biggest support for the Nikkei.

Of the 225 components on the Nikkei, 151 stocks rose and 74

fell.