Japan's Nikkei rises as US court halts Trump tariffs, chipmakers rally

TOKYO, May 29 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average climbed on Thursday after a U.S. federal court blocked President Donald Trump's tariffs from going into effect, while a rally in chip-related stocks following positive earnings from Nvidia also lifted the index.

As of 0045 GMT, the Nikkei .N225 was up 1.4% at 38,238.02.

The broader Topix .TOPX rose 1.24% to 2,803.96.

The Manhattan-based Court of International Trade ruled that Trump overstepped his authority by imposing across-the-board duties on imports from nations that sell more to the United States than they buy.

The U.S. dollar surged following the court decision, pushing the yen down 0.74% to 145.96 against the greenback in early Thursday trading.

A weaker yen tends to benefit local stocks, as it boosts the yen value of overseas earnings for Japanese companies when those profits are repatriated.

Chip-related shares jumped after Nvidia NVDA.O beat quarterly sales expectations, with Advantest 6857.T and Tokyo Electron 8035.T rising 3% each.

Cable maker Fujikura 5803.T, a gauge for AI investments, rose 4.5% to become the top percentage gainer in the Nikkei.

Automakers advanced, with Toyota Motor 7203.T rising 3%, helping to lift the auto and auto parts sector .ITEQP.T by 2.5%, making it the top performer among the Tokyo Stock Exchange's 33 industry sub-indexes.