* Topix touches 33-year high; Nikkei posts five-week high

* Yen hits 10-month low, supports exporters

Sept 7 (Reuters) - Japanese stocks stalled at recent highs on Thursday, with elevated U.S. yields and a slowing China economy taking the momentum out of a rally that has run steadily for a few weeks.

The Nikkei index was flat at the mid-session break, having hit a five-week peak of 33,322.45 in morning trade. The broader Topix was steady after scaling a fresh 33-year high of 2,397.33 earlier in the day.

Both indexes had closed higher for eight consecutive sessions, with gains of more than 25% year-to-date, making them among the best-performing markets globally.

"Investors have a positive view on Japanese equities," said Kenji Abe, an analyst at Daiwa Securities in Tokyo. "But we've had some negative news and U.S. yields are higher, turning people a little pragmatic."

Overnight a stronger-than-expected U.S. services survey drove up two-year yields in anticipation of interest rates staying higher for longer. The higher risk-free return put pressure on U.S. growth sectors such as technology, with a similar mood reflecting on Japan markets.

Among the biggest losers were Advantest, which makes computer-chip testing equipment, after its shares slumped nearly 5% to track an overnight drop in customer Nvidia .

Shares of NTN Corp fell 4.6% after the ball-bearings maker issued a zero-coupon convertible bond on Wednesday.

Investors maintained a cautious stance ahead of China trade data due later in the day.

A weaker yen, which hit a 10-month low of 147.85 to the dollar in morning trade, helped offset the low-risk mood as the soft currency boosted exporters.

Shipbuilder Mitsui E&S was up 5.2% and has closed firmer so far this week despite being earmarked for removal from the Nikkei index on low liquidity. Shares in Mitsubishi Heavy Industries were up 2.6% at a 26-1/2-year high following the successful launch of one of its rockets on Thursday.

(Reporting by Tom Westbrook in Singapore; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)