Japan Nikkei climbs over 2 pct, led by exporters

(Updates to midmorning)

TOKYO, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average climbed 2 percent on Wednesday, with Honda Motor Co (7267.T) and other exporters powering higher on a stronger dollar in the wake of a Wall Street rebound and oil prices touching a three-month low. Top lender Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306.T) slid 2.5 percent to 892 yen after it reported a 66 percent slide in first-quarter profit on Tuesday, hurt by more credit-related losses and a sputtering domestic economy, and stuck to its forecast for virtually no growth this year. [ID:nT259517]

Despite a lineup of positive factors that included signals from the Federal Reserve that it is in no hurry to raise U.S. rates, market players remained wary. "There's a lot of earnings coming up later this week, and many investors are going to want to take a good look at these to see if there are any downward revisions," said Takashi Ushio, head of the investment strategy division at Marusan Securities. "They need this reassurance before they can really turn to buying."

U.S. stocks surged on Tuesday after the Fed, as expected, left interest rates unchanged, with its statement soothing investors who had worried that the central bank might be forced to raise rates over the coming months.

The dollar also edged higher against the yen, trading at around 108.41 yen JPY= by midmorning in Tokyo, boosting exporters across the board.

The benchmark Nikkei .N225 climbed 259.52 points to 13,174.18, while the broader Topix rose 1.4 percent to 1,265.61.

Export heavyweights such as Canon Inc (7751.T) and Honda led the Nikkei higher, while Canon climbed 3.7 percent to 5,030 yen, becoming the greatest contributor to the Nikkei 225.

Honda rose 3.6 percent to 3,430 yen and industrial robot maker Fanuc Ltd (6954.T) climbed 2.6 percent to 8620 yen. Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) rose 2.4 percent to 4,610 yen. Trading houses, which rose briefly after the opening, edged down, with Mitsui & Co (8031.T) sliding 0.8 percent and Mitsubishi Corp (8058.T) down 0.3 percent.

All Nippon Airways (9202.T), Japan's second-largest airline, said on Wednesday it is considering cutting or suspending about 10 domestic and international routes, and will make an official announcement soon.

Japan Airlines Corp (9205.T) plans to cut services or reduce flights on 21 routes including ones to London this business year to battle with soaring fuel costs, the Nikkei business daily said on Tuesday. A JAL spokesman declined to confirm the report and said the airline will announce its plans at an earnings briefing on Thursday.

ANA rose 1.8 percent to 406 yen and JAL edged up by 0.5 percent to 223 yen. (Reporting by Elaine Lies; Editing by Michael Watson)