Japan's Nikkei rise on tech gains, tariff worries limit gains

TOKYO, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average rose on Wednesday, led by heavyweight technology stocks, but the gains were capped due to persistent worries about the U.S. tariff policy.

The Nikkei .N225 rose 0.16% to 38,863.82 by the midday break. It gained as much as 0.78% earlier in the session.

The broader Topix .TOPX reversed early gains to fall 0.28% to 2,725.45.

"Although Japan is not yet a direct target of the tariff policy of the U.S., whenever we hear about anything new about this subject, the market becomes nervous," said Shuutarou Yasuda, a market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Intelligence Laboratory.

"The auto sector is the most sensitive to the tariff issues."

The U.S. President on Monday raised tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to 25% from the previous 10%, eliminated country exceptions, as well as product-specific exclusions, and promised to announce global reciprocal tariffs within days.

Overnight, the Nasdaq .IXIC declined, but the Dow Jones Industrial .DJI and S&P 500 .SPX climbed.

Japan's stock market was closed on Tuesday for a public holiday.

Among stocks that lifted the benchmark Nikkei, chip-testing equipment maker Advantest 6857.T rose 2.13% and SoftBank Group gained 2.15%.

Medical services platform operator M3 2413.T surged 18% to become the top percentage gainer on the Nikkei.

Cable makers, a gauge for data centre investments, rose on the day, with Fujikura 5803.T and Furukawa Electric 5801.T jumping 6% and 4%, respectively.

Auto stocks .ITEQP.T. slipped 1.32%. The sector declined as Toyota Motor 7203.T fell 1.47%, Honda Motor 7267.T shed 1.23% and Nissan Motor 7201.T slumped 6.8%.

Brokerages .ISECU.T lost 2.13% to become the worst performing sector among the 33 sub-indexes.

Of the 225 Nikkei components, 85 stocks rose and 137 fell, while three traded flat.