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

hit a record high on Thursday before falling into negative

territory as concerns about inflation and rising interest rates

overwhelmed enthusiasm over technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index fell 1% to close at

62,654.05 after touching an unprecedented 63,799.32 earlier in

the session.

The broader Topix slid 1.03% to 3,879.27.

Tech shares helped Wall Street indexes notch record closing

levels overnight, and gains by Japanese companies linked to the

artificial intelligence boom were enough to give the Nikkei an

early advance.

Yields on long-term Japanese government bonds jumped to

record highs on Thursday as inflationary pressures from the

Middle East crisis mounted. Bank of Japan board member Kazuyuki

Masu called for an early hike of interest rates to rein in

prices.

Nonferrous metal producers and real estate companies were

the worst performers among the Tokyo Stock Exchange's 33

industry sub-indexes. Mitsui Fudosan ( MTSFF ), a major real

estate developer, plunged 10%.

"In a situation where concerns about stagflation are

growing, a rise in interest rates generally acts as a negative

factor for real estate stocks, and today we can see that this

factor is becoming apparent," said Wataru Akiyama, an equities

strategist at Nomura Securities.

"Looking at the performance of individual stocks today,

there are still quite a few being sold off due to negative

earnings, so investor caution is warranted."

There were 92 advancers on the Nikkei index against 133

decliners. The largest losers were Fujikura ( FKURF ), down

19.1%, followed by Mitsubishi Materials ( MIMTF ), which slid

12.1%.

The largest percentage gainers in the index were Tokai

Carbon ( TKCBF ), up 18.5%, followed by Nissui Corp ( NISUF ),

which jumped 11%.

SoftBank Group, an AI investor that has been a big

contributor to gains in the Nikkei this year, said on Wednesday

that its net profit more than tripled in the January-March

quarter. Even so, the company's shares sank 4%.

(Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Janane Venkatraman)