TOKYO, June 11 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average

rose during morning trade on Tuesday as investors cheered record

closing highs on Wall Street, which prompted a jump in

heavyweight domestic semiconductor stocks.

The Nikkei was up 0.3% at 39,155.16 by the midday

break, after touching a three-week high of 39,336.66 earlier in

the session.

The broader Topix rose 0.21% to 2,788.27.

Despite a choppy session on Wall Street overnight, the S&P

500 and Nasdaq both logged record closing highs, boosting

sentiment during Tokyo trading.

Japan's heavyweight technology shares, in particular,

performed strongly, tracking a 1.4% rise on the Philadelphia SE

Semiconductor Index.

The domestic benchmark, however, shed some gains in the

latter half of the session as investors exercised caution ahead

of the U.S. CPI report for May, due Wednesday, along with the

conclusion of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting.

The Fed is widely expected to hold interest rates, putting

the focus on indications of how soon policymakers expect to

begin policy easing after a stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs

report, which stirred concerns again.

But markets continue to take comfort that the central bank's

next move will be a cut and not another hike, said Charu

Chanana, global market strategist and head of FX strategy at

Saxo.

"That is helping U.S. and Japanese stocks, along with

sustained AI momentum."

A weak yen also continues to support Japanese equities,

while the political turmoil in Europe could bring more flows

from long-term investors, Chanana added.

The dollar last traded around 157.21 yen.

Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan is expected to keep short-term

interest rates in a 0-0.1% range at its meeting later this week,

although policymakers are brainstorming ways to slow its bond

buying.

Among individual stocks on Tuesday, chip-making equipment

giant Tokyo Electron ( TOELF ) was up 2.2%, while chip-testing

equipment maker Advantest ( ADTTF ) climbed 0.9%.

Medical supplies manufacturer Terumo ( TRUMF ) gained 1.1%,

while Chugai Pharmaceutical ( CHGCF ) rose 2.6%.

Fellow pharmaceutical firm Eisai ( ESALF ) declined about 3%.