(Updates prices)

TOKYO, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average

ended higher Thursday, as investors snapped up chip-related

shares after Advantest ( ADTTF ) raised its full-year profit forecast.

The Nikkei rose 0.25% to 39,513.97. After opening

0.28% lower, the benchmark moved between modest gains and losses

during the session.

"DeepSeek shock has not completely faded, but investors were

relieved to see the positive outlook of Advantest ( ADTTF )," said Seiichi

Suzuki, chief equity market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research

Institute.

Stronger Nasdaq futures during Asian trade also supported

Japanese chip-related shares, said Suzuki.

Advantest ( ADTTF ), a supplier to U.S. chipmaker Nvidia ( NVDA )

, hiked its full-year operating profit forecast by 37%

on Wednesday due to strong demand for its testing tools for

chips used in artificial intelligence tasks.

Shares of the chip-testing equipment maker rose 3% in

volatile trade. The stock opened lower on profit-booking before

rising as much as 6.9%.

"Advantest ( ADTTF ) still has not regained confidence from investors

as the stock has not recouped its losses made in the past few

sessions," said Suzuki.

The stock has lost 12.5% so far this week, heading for its

biggest weekly loss since late November, as the rising

popularity of Chinese startup DeepSeek's AI model has called

into question sky-high valuations for Nvidia ( NVDA ) and others at the

forefront of the AI revolution.

Chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron ( TOELF ) rose

1.87%.

Technology start-up investor SoftBank Group fell

1.06% to weigh the most on the Nikkei.

Of the 225 components of the Nikkei index, 141 stocks rose

and 81 fell, with three trading flat.

The broader Topix gained 0.23% to 2,781.93.

Tire makers jumped 2.88% to become the top gainer among the

Tokyo Stock Exchange's (TSE) 33 industry sub-indexes.

Of the more than 1,600 stocks trading on the TSE's prime

market, 66% rose and 30% fell, with 3% trading flat.