(Updates with closing levels)

By Kevin Buckland

TOKYO, April 28 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei rose for a

fourth straight session on Monday, driven by automobiles stocks

after Toyota Motor ( TM ) revealed it might invest in key parts

supplier Toyota Industries ( TYIDF ).

Sentiment was also buoyed broadly by some signs of a thaw in

the Sino-U.S. trade standoff, with U.S. President Donald Trump

saying on Friday that he had spoken with Chinese leader Xi

Jinping.

The Nikkei rose 0.4% to close at 35,839.99. Earlier

in the day, the index rose as high as 36,075.26, crossing the

psychological 36,000 level for the first time since April 1.

The benchmark index hasn't posted a four-day winning streak

since January.

The broader Topix gained 0.9%.

Trump also said on Friday that a tariff agreement with Tokyo

is very close, without providing details.

"The backdrop to everything is U.S. tariff negotiations, and

rising optimism there is supporting stock markets," said Maki

Sawada, a strategist at Nomura.

However, ahead of a national holiday on Tuesday in Japan,

and in a week packed with earnings reports that includes some of

Wall Street's Magnificent Seven tech megacaps, "investors will

be reluctant to chase the market much higher", Sawada said.

Transport equipment jumped 3.1%, making it the

standout performer among the Tokyo Stock Exchange's 33 industry

sectors.

Toyota Motor ( TM ) climbed 3.6%. Over the weekend,

Japan's biggest automaker said it was exploring the possibility

of investing in a potential buyout of Toyota Industries ( TYIDF )

.

Shares of Toyota Industries ( TYIDF ) rose by their daily limit of 23%

at the close after being untraded through the day due to excess

demand.

One notable decliner was chip-testing equipment maker

Advantest ( ADTTF ), a Nvidia supplier, which tumbled 4.8% after

its profit forecast trailed analysts' estimates.

Daiwa Securities ( DSECF ) rose 1.8% and construction

machinery maker Komatsu ( KMTUF ) jumped 2.3% after both

companies announced massive share buybacks.

($1 = 143.7200 yen)