Nikkei rises as US court halts Trump's tariffs, chip stocks rally

TOKYO, May 29 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average rose to a more than two-week high on Thursday after a U.S. court blocked President Donald Trump's tariffs from going into effect, while a rally in chip-related stocks also lifted the index.

As of 0223 GMT, the Nikkei rose 1.7% to 38,347.05, its highest level since May 13.

The broader Topix .TOPX rose 1.44% to 2,809.27.

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 0.7% to 145.86 against the greenback. A weaker yen boosts the value of overseas revenues.

"The Nikkei's gains were limited even as we had a series of positive cues, as the market was testing if the index would rise further going forward," said Yusuke Sakai, a senior trader at T&D Asset Management.

Chip-related shares jumped after Nvidia NVDA.O beat quarterly sales expectations, with Advantest 6857.T and Tokyo Electron 8035.T rising 3.7% and 3.3%, respectively.

Cable maker Fujikura 5803.T, a gauge for AI investments, jumped 6.3%. It lifted the nonferrous metals sector .INFRO.T by 3.52%, making it the top performer among the Tokyo Stock Exchange's 33 industry sub-indexes.

Automakers also advanced, with Toyota Motor 7203.T rising 3.9%, helping lift the auto and auto parts sector .ITEQP.T by 3%.

Hino Motors 7205.T jumped 7.8% to become the top percentage gainer in the Nikkei.

On the other hand, toy maker Bandai Namco Holdings 7832.T fell 2.47% to drag the Nikkei the most.