Nikkei little changed as Inpex up, techs fall

TOKYO, Mar 28 (Reuters) The Nikkei average was little changed on Wednesday as losses in technology stocks and other exporters were countered by a rise in energy firms such as Inpex Holdings Inc., which gained on a jump in crude prices.

Shares of Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. gained 2.2 percent to 188 yen after a source close to the matter said on Tuesday the president of the beleaguered electronics maker would step down and be replaced by the company's vice president.

''Shares of Inpex and other resource-related stocks are gaining due to the jump in oil prices overnight,'' said Takahiko Murai, general manager of equities at Nozomi Securities.

The Nikkei was up 41.95 points at 17,407.00 as of 0107 GMT.

It opened down 0.21 percent.

The broad TOPIX index was up 0.35 percent at 1,729.92.

Oil and gas producer Inpex rose 3.9 percent to 1.01 million yen.

U.S. crude prices surged a barrel in after-hours trade on Tuesday to .09, their highest in more than six months, on rumours that a conflict had broken out between Iran and the United States.

The White House later dismissed talk of military action, and crude eased back to .85 on Wednesday But shares of technology stocks continued to decline on concerns about the outlook for the economy of the United States, one of their key markets.

Chip-equipment maker Advantest Corp. fell 2.3 percent to 5,220 yen.

''We have yet to see a full resolution of the problems in the U.S. housing market. As such, concerns about the U.S. economy and U.S. stocks remain,'' said Yutaka Miura, a senior technical analyst at Shinko Securities.

REUTERS DKS BST0702