Japan's Nikkei ends at record high as chip-related shares gain on Wall Street boost

By Junko Fujita

TOKYO, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average ended at a closing high for a third straight session on Friday, as chip-related stocks tracked Wall Street's strong finish overnight.

The Nikkei .N225 rose 0.89% to 44,768.12, after gaining as much as 1.16% to a record intraday high of 44,888.02 earlier in the session.

For the week, the index rose 4%, its biggest weekly gain since mid-July.

The broader Topix .TOPX edged up 0.4% to 3,160.49 and advanced 1.77% for the week.

"There was a caution for overheating but investors see potential for further gains as corporate outlook is seen as strong, while return on equity is expected to rise as local firms spend more money on shareholder returns," said Naoki Fujiwara, senior general manager at Shinkin Asset Management.

Wall Street's main indexes notched record-high closes on Thursday as U.S. inflation and jobless data fuelled expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this month. .N

In Japan, chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron 8035.T jumped 5.5%, while chip-testing equipment maker Advantest 6857.T gained 1.82%.

Technology investor SoftBank Group 9984.T changed course to end 1.82% higher.

The Nikkei's latest rally was partly supported by active buying of the Nikkei stock futures ahead of the fixing of special quotation prices, said Seiichi Suzuki, chief equity market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute.

The Nikkei narrowed gains during the session as the buying of futures slowed after the special quotation, used to set values on index options and futures, settled soon after the opening.

The closely watched settlement price, known in Japan as the special quotation, or SQ, is calculated from the opening prices of the 225 shares in the Nikkei share average on the second Friday of the month.