Japan stocks up 1 pct as Tokyo Elec jumps, resources up

(Adds comment, stocks, details)

By Aiko Hayashi

TOKYO, April 15 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 1 percent on Tuesday as Tokyo Electron Ltd (8035.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) jumped on a brokerage upgrade, while resource-related shares such as trading house Mitsui Co Ltd (8031.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) climbed after oil hit a record closing high.

Investors returned to blue-chip issues such as Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd (4502.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), as they have become rather cheap, said Takahiko Murai, general manager of equities at Nozomi Securities.

"I'm seeing sporadic buying and short-covering after the Japanese market fell too sharply yesterday, but investors remain nervous ahead of this week's earnings announcements by U.S. banks and financial institutions," he said.

The rocky ride for the U.S. stock market is expected to continue this week, with earnings reports from JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Merrill Lynch (MER.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Citigroup (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and other large banks and financial services companies, as well as reams of economic data.

The benchmark Nikkei average .N225 added 125.49 points to end the morning at 13,043.00. It fell 3.1 percent on Monday to book its lowest close since April 1.

The broader TOPIX index gained 1 percent or 12.39 points to 1,258.63.

On Monday, Wachovia Corp (WB.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the No.4 U.S. bank, said it would cut its dividend, eliminate jobs and raise capital of $7 billion, becoming the latest casualty of the global credit crunch. [ID:nN14343221]