* Nikkei touches 10,000 but profit-taking emerges
* Nikkei on track for around 23 pct quarterly gain
* Optimism grows ahead of U.S., Japan indicators
* Elpida Memory climbs after govt says to invest
* Resource shares up as crude oil surges
By Elaine Lies
TOKYO, June 30 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average rose 1.9
percent on Tuesday and briefly hit 10,000 as surging crude prices
boosted resource shares such as Mitsubishi Corp <8058.T> amid
growing optimism that economic recession may be easing.
Analysts said the market mood continues to brighten as the
first quarter of Japan's financial year comes to an end, but
investor skittishness is likely to spark selling to lock in
profits on any rises over 10,000 for a while.
Elpida Memory Inc <6665.T> rose 2.4 percent after the
Japanese government said it would invest 30 billion yen ($312
million) in the computer chip maker, with other high-tech shares
stronger as well [].
"It may be overly optimistic, but I think the market mood is
changing, that the economic data that both the United States and
Japan are waiting for later this week will confirm that their
economies have bottomed out," said Takashi Ushio, head of the
investment strategy division at Marusan Securities.
The benchmark Nikkei <> rose as high as 10,000.30,
topping 10,000 for the first time in two weeks, but gains were
quickly trimmed as nervous investors locked in profits ahead of
key indicators due out in the United States and Japan this week.
The Bank of Japan's tankan quarterly survey of business
sentiment comes out on Wednesday, and among a slew of U.S.
indicators is jobs data due out on Thursday.
The benchmark Nikkei <> ended the morning up 184.57
points at 9,968.04 while the broader Topix <> gained 1.6
percent to 929.64.
The Nikkei hit an eight-month intraday high of 10,170.82
earlier in June and is on track for its best quarter since 1995,
having risen around 23 percent so far in the April-June quarter.
The benchmark closed above its 25-day moving average on
Monday, which comes just under 9,800 and offers support, but
technical analysts have said the Nikkei needs to break above
10,500-10,600 to move into a sustained uptrend.
Japan's jobless rate rose to a 5-1/2-year high in May but
households increased their spending as government stimulus
measures took effect.
"Until the first quarter consumption declined sharply but in
the second quarter we are now seeing a turnaround," said
Masamichi Adachi, a senior economist at JP Morgan.
"Manufacturing activity rebounded and the government stimulus
kicked in from the beginning of this fiscal year. The current
momentum of the economy is upward."
Some support was also likely from "window dressing", in which
fund managers sell some of the market's less profitable shares
and buy more profitable ones to bolster their portfolios ahead of
the quarter's end.
ELPIDA SUPPORT
Elpida, the world's fourth-biggest DRAM maker, became the
first company to get government aid under a new scheme that makes
public funds available to businesses hit by the global financial
crisis, a move the government said was aimed at helping it boost
output capacity and cutting costs. [] []
"This is the first company to receive such funds and shows
that the government is determined to support the sector, that
they're determined as well not to let Elpida fail," said Hajime
Kurabayashi, a strategist at Okasan Securities.
Other semiconductor firms also powered higher, which
Kurabayashi said could perhaps could be due to spillover optimism
from the Elpida announcement.
Tokyo Electron <8035.T> rose 4.2 percent to 4,730 yen while
Advantest Corp <6857.T>, a maker of chip-testing equipment,
gained 4.2 percent to 1,761 yen. Nikon <7731.T>, which makes
semiconductor products as well as cameras, climbed 6.7 percent to
1,678 yen.
Resource shares climbed as oil powered above $73 per barrel
<CLc1> and Shanghai copper rose nearly 1 percent, tracing London
gains in the previous session. []
Crude oil extended gains after settling at the highest in
over two weeks following fresh rebel attacks on oil installations
in Nigeria, with gains on Wall Street and Asian share markets
offering additional support. []
Mitsubishi Corp, Japan's largest trading house, gained 1.9
percent, Mitsui & Co <8031.T> rose 1.6 percent to 1,139 yen, and
Itochu Corp <8001.T> rose 2.1 percent to 668 yen.
Oil and gas field developer Inpex <1605.T> rose 4 percent to
764,000 yen.
Trading was light with 885 million shares trading hands on
the Tokyo exchange's first section compared to last week's
morning average of 1.0 billion.
Advancing shares outnumbered declining shares by 4 to 1.
(Additional reporting by Tokyo newsroom; Editing by Michael
Watson)
