TOKYO, May 20 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average

rose more than 1% on Monday, hitting 39,000 points for the first

time in a month as a record closing high on Wall Street

continued to fuel positive investor sentiment.

The Nikkei was 1.44% higher at 39,346.92 by the

midday break, climbing to the psychologically significant

39,000-point range for the first time since April 15.

The broader Topix was up 1.21% at 2778.89.

Higher prospects of U.S. rate cuts this year after a milder

inflation report last week buoyed global market sentiment and

led several indexes on Wall Street to lock in weekly gains. That

in turn has provided Japanese equities with a tailwind.

"Stock prices have been supported as rate cut expectations

are being revived," said Masahiro Ichikawa, chief market

strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management.

The Nikkei fell nearly 5% last month in its largest monthly

drop since December 2022, following the benchmark index's rise

to an all-time high of 41,087.75 earlier this year.

On the back of those expectations, the Dow Jones Industrial

Average finished above the 40,000 mark for the first time

on Friday, which may be giving the Nikkei support on Monday,

Ichikawa said.

Buying was widespread, with 204 of the index's 225

constituents advancing, with high-tech shares and index

heavyweights helping the Nikkei to 559.54-point gains.

Uniqlo parent firm Fast Retailing ( FRCOF ) was up 1.9%,

adding about 77 points alone.

Among chip-related shares, Shin-Etsu Chemical Co ( SHECF ),

which manufactures chip silicon products among other things,

jumped 5.24%, and chip-making equipment giant Tokyo Electron ( TOELF )

gained 1.2%.

Advantest ( ADTTF ), which counts Nvidia ( NVDA ) among its

customers, was up 0.8% as investors looked ahead of U.S. firm's

earnings results this week, which could provide fresh momentum

for the artificial intelligence-centred stock rally.