TOKYO, May 2 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average

eked out meagre gains on Thursday, with the yen's sudden

appreciation and a mixed performance on Wall Street dragging on

sentiment.

The Nikkei was up 0.07% at 38,299.71 by the midday

close, with gains and losses relatively limited as investors

avoided making big moves before the market entered a long

holiday weekend.

The broader Topix gained 0.11% at 2,732.33.

The U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting concluded

on Wednesday without any big surprises, with the central bank

standing pat.

While the Fed flagged that recent disappointing inflation

readings could make rate cuts a while in coming, it signalled it

is still leaning towards eventual reductions, giving some

solace.

"Many investors were worried the Fed may hike (again) if

inflation continued to remain high, but Fed Chair Powell

suggested that the likelihood of a further rate hike is low, so

I think that was assuring," said Kenji Abe, an equities

strategist at Daiwa Securities.

But a surge in the yen against the dollar after the Fed's

meeting, suspected by traders to be another round of

intervention by Tokyo, muted gains by export-related shares

which tend to benefit from a weaker currency.

The dollar was last trading around 155.84 yen.

Automakers Toyota Motor ( TM ) and Honda Motor ( HMC )

both managed modest wins, up 0.3% and 0.1%, respectively.

Sony Group ( SONY ) fell 0.2%, while Keyence Corp ( KYCCF )

was up 0.1%.

At the same time, U.S. stocks were mixed overnight, with the

Philadelphia Semiconductor Index in particular taking a

hit after weak quarterly results from tech firms Advanced Micro

Devices ( AMD ) and Super Micro Computer ( SMCI ).

The snag in the tech rally abroad capped gains of

chip-making equipment giant Tokyo Electron ( TOELF ) at 0.7%.

Chip-testing equipment maker Advantest ( ADTTF ) slid 0.2%,

and AI-focused startup investor SoftBank Group ( SFTBF ) fell

0.3%.