TOKYO, May 28 (Reuters) - Japan's share market struggled

for direction for a second day on Thursday as concerns about the

Middle East crisis and valuations in the technology sector

weighed on sentiment.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index slipped 0.11% to

64,928.28 in early trading. In the previous session, the gauge

shot up as much as 2.2% to a record 66,428.81 before closing

flat. The broader Topix fell 0.22% to 3,909.21.

Overnight, healthcare and consumer stocks lifted the Dow

Jones Industrial Average to a record closing high, even as the

red-hot AI and chip sectors eased off recent gains.

Japanese tech shares were also broadly weaker on Thursday,

while reports of fresh U.S. strikes on Iran doused optimism

about a deal to end the three-month conflict.

"Since the U.S. stock market was also weak, particularly in

the semiconductor sector, unless new factors emerge, the market

is likely to remain around the 65,000 mark," Wataru Akiyama, an

equities strategist at Nomura Securities, said about the

Nikkei's level.

"Given that the rally has been quite rapid, there is growing

caution about trading at these high levels, so we expect the

soft trend to continue."

So far in 2026, the Nikkei is up 29%. There were 103

advancers on the index against 120 decliners.

The largest percentage gainers were Taiyo Yuden ( TYOYF ), up

17.1%, followed by Murata Manufacturing ( MRAAF ), which jumped

8.9%.

The largest losers were Fuji Electric ( FELTF ), down 7.1%,

followed by Furukawa Electric ( FUWAF ), which lost 5.3%.