Japan's Nikkei rebounds; US tariffs, growth concerns keep trade volatile

TOKYO, March 12 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average rose in choppy trade on Wednesday as investors bought back shares after sharp declines in the last session, although concerns about U.S. tariffs and their impact on the global economy continued to weigh on sentiment.

After see-sawing between gains and losses for much of the morning trade, the Nikkei .N225 gained 0.3% to 36,898.83 by the midday break and the broader Topix .TOPX added 0.9% to 2,695.86.

Analysts hinted at share buy-backs after the Nikkei fell to a six-month low on Tuesday, while reports that Ukraine would accept a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire with Russia eased the risk-off mood.

The financial sector outperformed, with Japanese government yields rising. Some of Japan's biggest companies will likely offer substantial wage hikes after concluding talks with unions on the day, bolstering bets that the Bank of Japan would further hike interest rates.

Banks .BNKS.T and insurance firms .IINSU.T advanced 2.7% and 2.2%, respectively, leading gains among the Tokyo Stock Exchange's 33 industry sectors.

However, investors treaded carefully ahead of a U.S. inflation report due later in the day, while growth concerns in the world's largest economy persisted amid U.S. President Donald Trump's ever-changing tariff policies.

"Investor sentiment has turned cautious amid emerging signals that the strength of the U.S. economy may be weakening, with rising odds of a recession scenario in the near term," said Samuel Hoang, a portfolio manager for Japan funds at Eastspring Investments in Singapore.

Growth concerns in the United States have dragged on the sentiment in Japan's stock market given the close relationship between the Japanese and U.S. economies, he said.

Year-to-date, the Nikkei has lost 7.8%.

Among major shares, Advantest 6857.T fell 2.3%, SoftBank Group 9984.T slid 0.6%, Tokyo Electron 8035.T climbed 0.7% and Sony Group 6758.T surged 4.5%.

Nissan Motor 7201.T jumped 0.9% after the automaker on Tuesday named company veteran Ivan Espinosa its next chief executive.