TOKYO, April 10 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average

surged on Friday and was on track for its sharpest weekly gain

in eight months, as optimism over corporate earnings and

technology investment outweighed concerns about a fragile

ceasefire in the Middle East.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index rose 1.65% to

56,817.54, poised for a 6.8% weekly jump that would be its best

since mid-August. The broader Topix edged up just 0.05%

to 3,743.17.

The Nikkei and other global indexes rose sharply on

Wednesday, following the announcement of a ceasefire to the

nearly six-week long war in Iran that has nearly halted oil

shipments from the region.

All eyes are now on talks in Pakistan this weekend, as

representatives from the United States and Iran meet to solidify

the deal to end hostilities.

Oil prices stabilised below $100 per barrel overnight while

shares on Wall Street climbed, with the Philadelphia SE

semiconductor index advancing for a seventh straight

session to hit an all-time high.

"Crude oil futures remaining in the $90 range and the SOX

Index hitting a new high are expected to support Japanese

stocks," Hiroshi Watanabe, a senior economist at Sony Financial

Group, said in a note.

With the earnings season now underway, retailing heavyweight

Fast Retailing ( FRCOF ) took the spotlight with blockbuster

earnings after the bell on Thursday. Shares in the Uniqlo parent

jumped as much as 10.2% to an all-time high on Friday.

There were 101 advancers on the Nikkei gauge against 121

decliners.

"Selective buying of individual stocks following earnings

announcements appears to be contributing to the upward momentum

in Japanese stocks," said Maki Sawada, an equities strategist at

Nomura Securities.

"With caution surrounding future developments (in the Middle

East), and considering the recent sharp rise in shares, I

believe we may see some resistance at higher levels become more

noticeable today."

Aside from Fast Retailing ( FRCOF ), the largest gainers on the Nikkei

were tech industry supplier Fujikura ( FKURF ), up 10.9%, and

chipmaker Kioxia Holdings ( KXHCF ), which jumped 6.7%.

The largest losers were SHIFT, down 5.3%, followed

by BayCurrent ( BYCRF ), down 5%, and online retailer Mercari ( MRCIF )

, which lost 4.8%.

(Reporting by Rocky Swift in Tokyo; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)