TOKYO, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei index fell on Monday by its most in almost three weeks, dragged down by technology stocks, as investors worried about escalating tensions surrounding Ukraine and rising U.S. inflation.

By 0216 GMT, the Nikkei share average had lost 2.6% to 26,981.78, posting its biggest intraday percentage drop since Jan. 27 and falling below the 27,000 level for the first time since Jan. 31. The broader Topix lost 2.02% to 1,923.07.

"Because the market was closed (in Japan) on Friday, today's market was hit by two separate negative news that happened last week - tensions surrounding Ukraine and Russia, and the sharp rise in U.S. consumer prices," said Shuji Hosoi, a senior strategist at Daiwa Securities.

"If the Ukraine situation gets worse, the market could fall further."

Wall Street ended sharply lower on Friday for the second straight session, as investors fretted about deepening tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine, U.S. inflation and prospects of aggressive interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.

Data from the Labor Department showed U.S. consumer prices surged 7.5% last month year-over-year, topping economists' estimates of 7.3% and marking the biggest annual increase in inflation in 40 years.

In Japan, market heavyweights fell, with Uniqlo clothing shop owner Fast Retailing, technology investor SoftBank Group and chip making equipment maker Tokyo Electron shedding between 1.96% and 4.25%.

Tyre maker Bridgestone tumbled 9.19% and was the worst performer on the Nikkei, followed by online medical platform M3, which fell 8.01%.

Oil explorer Inpex was the top performer on the index with a 6.21% jump.

Oil prices hit their highest in more than seven years on fears that a possible invasion of Ukraine by Russia could trigger U.S. and European sanctions that would disrupt exports from the world's top producer in an already tight market. (Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)