Japan's Nikkei rises 0.8 pct, high-tech firms up

(Adds sector shares, comments)

By Taiga Uranaka

TOKYO, March 21 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average rose 0.8 percent on Friday, climbing for a third straight session thanks to gains in high-tech firms such as Kyocera Corp (6971.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) after a rise on Wall Street.

But the market's gains were limited by falls in commodities-related shares including gold and copper producer Sumitomo Metal Mining Co Ltd (5713.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and trading company Mitsubishi Corp (8058.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), due to a tumble in prices of industrial metals such as copper.

"The Tokyo market is in a rebound mode. Investors' concerns have receded for the time being with U.S. financial earnings and the Fed rate cut," said Katsuhiko Kodama, senior strategist at Toyo Securities.

"But there are not many market participants today, as it falls between holidays," he added.

Investors' fears for the fallout of U.S brokerage Bear Stearns' BSC.N collapse was eased after big U.S. interest rate cuts and on news earlier this week that Goldman Sachs (GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Lehman Brothers (LEH.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) topped forecasts, although their quarterly profit fell by more than half.

The benchmark Nikkei .N225 ended the morning session up 102.45 points at 12,362.89 and the broader TOPIX gained 0.7 percent to 1,205.02.

Electronics parts maker Kyocera rose 3.8 percent to 8,700 yen, the biggest contributor to the Nikkei. Advantest Corp (6857.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the world's largest maker of microchip testers, gained 4.6 percent to 2,525 yen.