TOKYO, June 4 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average

fell on Tuesday as profit-taking set in after Japanese equities

rebounded close to the 39,000-point mark the previous day.

The Nikkei declined 0.45% to 38,749.25, while the

broader Topix was down 0.46% at 2785.22.

With little in the way of new material for the market to go

on, investors locked in profits following two consecutive days

of gains in the market.

Japanese equities received limited support from Wall Street,

after the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq edged higher in a choppy

session overnight, while the Dow lost ground.

The Nikkei climbed to an all-time peak of 41,087.75 on March

22, but retreated the following month. While the benchmark index

touched the 39,000 level in May and again on Monday, it has

failed to maintain the range.

"I think the market is struggling to find the new theme or

driver to bring it up," said Naka Matsuzawa, chief macro

strategist at Nomura.

"Dollar/yen is no longer rising, seems like commodity prices

have kind of peaked out...and inflation expectations globally

are down."

Although dollar/yen appears largely range-bound for now, the

yen sitting at a 34-year trough has also fuelled bets for the

Bank of Japan to hike interest rates sooner this year, perhaps

as early as July.

"That all makes people hesitant," said Matsuzawa.

Still, the Nikkei remains up 16.3% for the year so far, with

analysts forecasting it will trade at 40,750 at the end of this

year.

Among stocks, a portion of heavyweights stumbled to drag on

the overall index, with Uniqlo parent firm Fast Retailing ( FRCOF )

declining 1.7% and AI-focused startup investor SoftBank

Group ( SFTBF ) falling 1%.

Chip-making equipment giant Tokyo Electron ( TOELF ) ticked

down 0.4%.

Meanwhile, top automaker shares struggled after Japan's

transport ministry found irregularities in applications to

certify certain models.

Toyota Motor ( TM ) shares were down 1.1%, and Honda Motor ( HMC )

slid 2.4%.

(Reporting by Brigid Riley; Editing by Janane Venkatraman

)