TOKYO, July 24 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average

fell during morning trade on Wednesday, dragged lower by a

decline in U.S. stocks and a stronger yen.

The Nikkei slid 0.22% to 39,508.84 by the midday

break, while the broader Topix was down 0.37% at

2,822.91.

Wall Street ended slightly lower on Tuesday, while earnings

from Alphabet and Tesla, the first from the

so-called Magnificent Seven stocks, failed to spur widespread

enthusiasm.

Meanwhile, the yen continued to rally, hovering around

155.455 per dollar, as markets priced in a 56% chance of a rate

hike in Japan next week and fears of currency intervention kept

speculators at bay.

A stronger yen tends to hurt exporter shares as it decreases

the value of overseas profits in yen terms when firms repatriate

them to Japan.

The Nikkei briefly rebounded during trading as investors

jumped in to buy stocks on the dip before slumping into negative

territory again.

"Japanese equities are facing a double whammy of yen

strength and caution in the tech space," said Charu Chanana,

global market strategist and head of FX strategy at Saxo.

Traders will likely remain careful of testing the limits of

yen weakness even if the Bank of Japan doesn't strike the

hawkish note next week, she added.

"This means broader Japanese equities could face further

headwinds, especially if Big Tech earnings fail to meet the

massive expectations."

The benchmark index hit a record high of 42,426.77 on July

11 but has since suffered a string of losses as chip shares

underperformed and the yen sharply appreciated from the 161

range. The Nikkei slid to a three-week low of 39,519.39 on

Monday.

In individual stocks, Nidec ( NNDNF ) jumped 6.4% after the

Japanese electric motor maker raised its full-year operating

profit forecast on Tuesday off the back of a recovery in demand

for hard drive motors, efforts to raise its profitability and a

weaker yen.

Mitsubishi Motors ( MMTOF ) slid 8.8% on disappointing

profits, becoming the worst percentage performer.