Japan's Nikkei rises as investors buy cheap stocks

By Junko Fujita

TOKYO, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average rose on Thursday, as investors scooped up cheap shares, betting on the potential for further market gains.

The Nikkei .N225 rose 0.2% to 45,719.71 by the midday break, setting to mark a third straight session of gains if the momentum holds.

The broader Topix .TOPX rose 0.43% to 3,183.97.

"Investors bought stocks that had been left behind the latest rally," said Shoichi Arisawa, general manager of the investment research department at IwaiCosmo Securities.

"These days, the stocks that lead the market's gain rotate, which is a good sign for the market's further gains," he said.

On Thursday, the nonferrous metals sector .INFRO.T rose 2.42%, becoming the biggest percentage gainer among the Tokyo Stock Exchange's (TSE) 33 industry sub-indexes.

Sumitomo Metal Mining 5713.T surged 8.73%, the biggest percentage gainer on the Nikkei.

Energy sectors rose after oil prices touched a seven-week high on Wednesday.

The refiners .IPETE.T rose 1.57%, with Eneos Holdings 5020.T and Cosmo Energy Holdings 5021.T 1.93% and 1.19%, respectively.

Energy explorers .IMING.T rose 1.52%, with Inpex 1605.T gaining 1.42%.

Shares of Okinawa-based beer maker Orion Breweries 409A.T were untraded in the morning session of its market debut with glut of buy orders. Strategists said its initial public price of 850 yen was cheap relative to its bigger competitors. It was last bid at 1,800 yen.

IwaiCosmo's Arisawa said while there is demand for buying on a dip, investors sold stocks that had gained in recent sessions.

Chip-testing equipment maker Advantest 6857.T, one of the stocks that led the Nikkei to mark a record high in the previous session, fell 1.04% to become the biggest drag for the Nikkei

Of more than 1,600 stocks trading on the TSE's prime section, 57% stocks rose and 37% fell, and 5% were little changed.