(Adds comments, updates with closing prices)

By Junko Fujita

TOKYO, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average

marked a fresh closing high on Thursday, as optimism over the

growth of AI-driven cloud businesses in the U.S. sent index

heavyweight SoftBank Group's shares higher.

The Nikkei rose 1.22% to close at 44,372.5, after

rising as much as 1.3% to a record intraday high of 44,396.95.

By contrast, the broader Topix added just 0.22% to

3,147.76.

"The Nikkei has come to a level which is no longer cheap.

The market has already priced in the growth in Japan and the

U.S. for next year," said Hitoshi Asaoka, chief strategist at

Asset Management One.

"The index has been led by the same stocks, which are

related to AI, chips and cables. Investors are not confident

enough about the economic outlook so that they cannot rotate

their targets."

Oracle soared 36% overnight in the U.S.,

marking its biggest one-day percentage gain since 1992. The tech

company pointed to a demand surge from AI firms for its cloud

services, helping the S&P 500 and Nasdaq notch record-high

closes on Wednesday.

Technology investor SoftBank Group jumped 9.98%,

while chip-testing equipment maker Advantest ( ADTTF ) rose

4.38%.

Cable maker Fujikura ( FKURF ), considered a barometer for

data centre investments globally, gained 2.64%.

The banking sector slid 1.36% and insurance

lost 1.11%, making them the worst performers among

the Tokyo Stock Exchange's 33 industry sub-indexes.

Meanwhile, the market remains uncertain about the Bank of

Japan's rate hike path, as the central bank weighs domestic

inflation and the economic hit from U.S. tariffs.

The appointment of a new Japanese prime minister next month

could also give the BOJ more reasons to go slow on its next rate

hike.

The market currently prices in a 60.7% chance of the BOJ

raising rates by 25 basis points to 0.75% at its policy meeting

in December.