Nikkei rebounds on exporters, Pioneer bid higher

* Honda gains after report it may beat its estimate

* Pioneer bid higher on news it may apply for state funds

* Elpida surges on report it likely to seek public money

TOKYO, April 22 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average rose 0.6 percent on Wednesday, lifted by exporters on a weaker yen and after an easing of financial sector fears boosted Wall Street, with additional support from Honda's (7267.T) gain on a report it may beat its earnings estimate.

Pioneer Corp (6773.T) was untraded due to a glut of buy orders after two sources close to the matter said on Tuesday the Japanese electronics maker is considering applying for state funds to shore up its capital. [ID:nBNG1087]

Elpida Memory (6665.T) soared nearly 17 percent after the Nikkei business daily said the world's No.3 DRAM maker is expected to seek around 50 billion yen ($507 million) in public money to shore up its finances. [ID:nT125087]

"What we are seeing both in the U.S. and Japanese markets now is a technical rebound after both markets took a breather after awfully strong rallies," said Tsuyoshi Segawa, equity strategist at Shinko Securities.

"But this doesn't mean the markets will return to an upward trend yet. Ahead of the peak of earnings season in the U.S. and Japan, lacklustre market moves will likely continue for a while."

The benchmark Nikkei .N225 added 52.61 points to 8,763.94.

It slid 2.4 percent the previous day to book its lowest close since April 8, following a rally of almost 30 percent in the benchmark average since early March, fuelled more recently by optimism about earnings at Citigroup (C.N) and other U.S. banks.

The broader Topix .TOPIX gained 0.5 percent to 835.15.

On Tuesday, remarks by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner that most U.S. banks have enough capital to keep lending sparked a rebound on Wall Street, with financials the best-performing sector in the broad Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX.

Worries that U.S government stress tests would reveal deep flaws in bank balance sheets had dragged down stocks the day before. [.N]

The dollar was trading around 98.55 yen JPY=, after breaking below 98 yen the previous day. Investors welcome a softer yen as it boosts exporter profits when they are repatriated.

Honda shares climbed 1.1 percent to 2,760 yen after the Nikkei business daily said the automaker's operating profit for the last financial year is likely to come in about 10 billion yen ($102 million) higher than its previous estimate, thanks to a weaker yen and better-than-expected sales in China. [ID:nT124607]

Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) added 0.3 percent to 3,730 yen and Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) gained 0.8 percent to 504 yen.

High-tech exporters rose, with Sony Corp (6758.T) gaining 0.6 percent to 2,560 yen and Kyocera Corp (6971.T) jumping 3.7 percent to 7,060 yen.

Shares of Pioneer were bid higher at 315 yen, up 14.5 percent from Tuesday's close, while Elpida surged 16.6 percent to 1,269 yen.

Banking shares were mixed. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (8316.T) added 0.2 percent to 2,985 yen, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306.T) fell 0.8 percent to 487 yen. (Reporting by Aiko Hayashi; Editing by Michael Watson)