(Updates with market close)

By Brigid Riley

TOKYO, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average

rose for a fourth consecutive day on Thursday as a record high

on Wall Street overnight buoyed investor sentiment, although

profit-taking capped gains.

The Nikkei closed up 0.3% at 39,395.60. The index

touched its highest intraday level since Nov. 12 at 39,632.3

before paring some gains.

The broader Topix finished about 0.1% higher at

2,742.24.

All three major U.S. stock indexes scored record closing

highs on Wednesday, led by technology shares, after upbeat

results from Salesforce ( CRM ) and comments by Federal Reserve

Chair Jerome Powell gave a late boost to the market.

Japanese tech shares tracked their U.S. peers higher, with

chip-testing equipment maker Advantest ( ADTTF ) rising 3.4%.

Electronics component manufacturer Fujikura ( FKURF ) climbed

3.1% amid expected demand for data centers.

AI-focused startup investor SoftBank Group was up

1.2%.

Staffing agency Recruit Holdings ( RCRRF ), up 3%, and Uniqlo

parent firm Fast Retailing ( FRCOF ), adding 0.3%, were among

other heavyweight shares to lift the Nikkei.

But the benchmark index struggled to push higher, with

around half of its 225 constituents in the red.

"There weren't many other factors to further drive the rise,

so we saw some selling to lock in profits when the Nikkei

reached the upper 39,000-point range" during morning trade, said

Masahiro Ichikawa, chief market strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS

Asset Management.

The yen strengthened during the session, recouping most of

yesterday's losses to the U.S. dollar.

Toyoaki Nakamura, known as one of the Bank of Japan's more

dovish board members, said on Thursday he was "not opposed to

rate hikes" but the decision to raise rates this month should be

data-dependent.

Investors were also positioning ahead of the closely watched

U.S. jobs report due on Friday.

The largest percentage losses on the index were Japan Steel

Works ( JPSWF ), down 5.4%, followed by pharmaceutical firm

Daiichi Sankyo ( DSKYF ), losing 3.6%.

Calculator maker Casio Computer ( CSIOF ) surged 4.6% to

become the top percentage performer.