China hopes buoy Nikkei, exporters helped by yen

* Nikkei on track for 2nd straight day of gains

* Hopes for China stimulus and economy boost average

* Market players say too early to say turning point is here

* Exporters rise after dlr hits 4-mth high on yen

By Elaine Lies

TOKYO, March 5 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average rose 2.7 percent on Thursday, on track for a second straight day of gains as shipping firms, exporters and machinery stocks like Komatsu Ltd (6301.T) climbed on hopes for a China stimulus plan.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said on Thursday that China will achieve 8 percent growth this year, a day after U.S. stocks snapped a five-day losing streak and other markets surged on speculation that Wen would add to a 4 trillion yuan ($585 billion) stimulus plan unveiled in November. [ID:nPEK39999]

"Expectations may not play out, but right now this is just about the only positive factor for the world," said Koichi Ogawa, chief portfolio manager at Daiwa SB Investments.

"It's hard to know yet if this is a turning point, and this is especially true in Japan, as recent support from public pension fund buying makes it hard to tell if we've really hit the bottom yet."

But he added that even if the Nikkei hasn't touched bottom, the January-March quarter probably will be quite close.

The benchmark Nikkei .N225 rose 196.90 points in active trade to 7,486.86 and looked set to end the day positive. That would mark the first time the average will have risen for two straight days since late January. The broader Topix rose 2.2 percent to 748.34. Construction machinery surged for a second straight day on expectations of Chinese spending on infrastructure and manufacturing.

Komatsu gained 5 percent to 1,088 yen and Hitachi Construction (6305.T) climbed 4.4 percent to 1,266 yen.

Shippers, also very sensitive to prospects for China's economy, steamed higher after the key Baltic Dry freight index .BADI rose 2.5 percent on Wednesday.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (9104.T) rose 6.2 percent to 498 yen and Kawasaki Kisen (9107.T) gained 5.1 percent to 311 yen. Nippon Yusen (9101.T) rose 4.2 percent to 402 yen.

Exporters rose broadly, also helped by a retreat in the yen.

The dollar on Wednesday rose to a four-month high against the yen, and was up 0.2 percent on the day at 99.36 yen in Tokyo,

Investors worry about a strong yen because it eats into exporter profits when repatriated.

Honda Motor Co (7267.T) climbed 3.2 percent to 2,275 yen and Panasonic Corp (6752.T) rose 4.5 percent to 1,151 yen. Hitachi Ltd (6501.T) gained 4.8 percent to 261 yen.

But Japanese market players remained wary.

"The last stimulus plan that China announced was so huge that I wonder if people aren't expecting too much," said Katsuhiko Kodama, a senior strategist at Toyo Securities.

"The markets may well start seeing some light this month, but after that it's hard to know. A lot depends on the United States."

Trade was active, with 1.2 billion shares changing hands on the Tokyo Stock exchange's first section compared to last week's morning average of 967 million.

Advancing shares outnumbered declining ones by more than 8 to 1. (Reporting by Elaine Lies; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)