Nikkei recovers after sell-off, Advantest up

TOKYO, Apr 3 (Reuters) The Nikkei share average gained 0.52 percent on Tuesday as investors returned to shares of Advantest Corp. and other stocks hit in the previous session's sell-off.

Shares of Mitsui&Co. gained after Japan's second-largest trading company said it was among a group of companies awarded a railway construction project in Saudi Arabia.

''It's something of a technical rebound,'' said Hideyuki Suzuki, investment information manager at SBI Securities.

Yet ongoing concern about the earnings outlook for corporate Japan was likely to keep gains limited, Suzuki said.

''Earnings forecasts remain pretty cautious ... and it seems that the market is taking some time to digest that,'' he said.

The Nikkei was up 89.02 points at 17,117.43 as of 0112 GMT.

The broad TOPIX index was up 10.89 points at 1,693.38.

Chip-equipment maker Advantest rose 2.1 percent to 5,250 yen, recouping 1.7 percent loss in the previous session.

Fanuc Ltd., the maker of industrial robots, gained 1.2 percent to 10,860 yen.

Mitsui&Co. gained 2.6 percent to 2,160 yen after it won a 90 billion yen (3 million) order together with a group of companies for a railway construction project in Saudi Arabia.

Reuters SBA VP0713