TOKYO, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average sank to the lowest in more than two weeks on Monday, tracking declines on Wall Street after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said tight U.S. monetary policy would be needed "for some time" to bring down inflation.
The Nikkei had dropped 2.76% to 27,851.68 by the midday break, with 212 stocks of the 225 constituents down, 12 up and one flat. Earlier in the day, it hit its lowest since Aug. 10 at 27,788.12.
Industrials dropped the most, followed by technology. Energy was the only sector in positive territory, eking out a gain amid a rise in crude oil prices.
The broader Topix sank 1.99% to 1,940.26.
The U.S. S&P 500 tumbled 3.37% on Friday and the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 4.1%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures indicated further losses for Monday, slipping 0.83% and 1.12% respectively.
"There is a decent chance of a rebound in U.S. stocks today" from a technical perspective, said Kazuo Kamitani, a strategist at Nomura Securities.
"If that's the case, Japanese stocks should also gradually rise. But if U.S. stocks fall again, Japanese stocks should continue to slide towards 27,000 heading into the next FOMC meeting."
Uniqlo store operator Fast Retailing was the biggest drag on the Nikkei, hacking off 85 points with a 2.84% drop.
Chipmaking-equipment maker Tokyo Electron was next, shaving away 76 points with a 4.69% slide. Peer Advantest lost 4.43%.
Startup investor SoftBank Group shaved 45 points from the Nikkei to be the third top drag, declining 3.72%.
Some auto stocks were among the winners, as the yen's slide to a more than one-month low against the dollar boosted revenue from overseas sales.
Isuzu was the Nikkei's biggest percentage riser, up 2.24%. Mazda added 0.49% and Subaru rose 0.45%.
The Big Three carmakers, however, fell. Toyota dropped 1.21%, Nissan lost 0.8% and Honda slipped 0.25%. (Reporting by Kevin Buckland; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
