Japan's Nikkei rallies on Wall Street gains

TOKYO, March 17 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average rallied amid widespread gains on Monday as investor sentiment got a boost from a sharp rise in U.S. stocks at the end of last week.

The Nikkei .N225 rose 1% to 37,413.28 as of 0010 GMT, while the broader Topix .TOPX was up 1.1%.

All three major U.S. stock indexes posted solid gains on Friday as investors hunted for bargains at the end of a tumultuous week, with recently battered tech-related megacaps enjoying a strong comeback. .N

Japan's heavyweight semiconductor-related stocks followed their U.S. peers higher on Monday, giving the heftiest lift to the overall index.

Among major stocks, AI-focused startup investor SoftBank Group 9984.T, Uniqlo parent Fast Retailing 9983.T, and chip-related shares Tokyo Electron 8035.T and Advantest 6857.T all gained. Auto giant Toyota Motor 7203.T also climbed.