TOKYO, March 4 (Reuters) - Japan's main stock benchmarkbreached the 40,000-point level for the first time on Monday astechnology shares jumped.

The Nikkei share average was last up 0.7% at40192.48.

Japanese stocks continue to soar to new peaks after lastmonth shattering the life-time high set during the halcyon daysof the bubble economy over three decades ago, spurred bycorporate governance reform and cheap valuations.

On Monday, Japan's technology shares helped pull theNikkei above the 40,000-point level, boosted by the ongoingartificial intelligence rally in U.S. stocks, which once againpushed the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to record highs overnight onFriday.

The broader Topix was down 0.02% at 2709.07.