TOKYO, July 9 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average

rebounded on Thursday after a three-day losing streak, as

AI-related shares tracked gains in the U.S. technology sector,

though higher oil prices following renewed U.S.-Iran hostilities

kept investor optimism in check.

The Nikkei 225 index climbed 1.5% to 67,832.41 in

morning trade. The broader TOPIX rose 0.2% to 4,015.88.

Semiconductor-related shares anchored the Nikkei's rise,

with flash memory chipmaker Kioxia ( KXHCF ) jumping 9.4% and

chip testing equipment maker Advantest ( ADTTF ) surging 6.4%,

while cables and optical fibre producer Fujikura ( FKURF )

advanced 5.4%.

Overnight, the Nasdaq rose following a more than $30 billion

chip-supply agreement between Broadcom ( AVGO ) and Apple ( AAPL )

, and a report that China plans to allow its top AI

firms to buy a limited number of Nvidia's ( NVDA ) H200 chips.

The news on China "appears to have fuelled expectations for

business expansion across Nvidia's ( NVDA ) supply chain, including in

Japan," said Wataru Akiyama, an equities strategist at Nomura

Securities.

Concerns about the Middle East returned to the fore after

U.S. President Donald Trump declared that an interim agreement

to end the war with Iran was "over."

The U.S. military said on Wednesday it was launching fresh

strikes on Iran aimed at keeping the Strait of Hormuz open to

traffic and in response to Tuesday's assault on three cargo

ships transiting the strait.

Oil prices rose about 1% on Thursday. Japan's air transport

and transport equipment sectors fell more

than 2% at one point.

Higher oil prices rekindled inflation concerns in the

Japanese government bond market. Combined with worries over

fiscal health, that pushed the benchmark 10-year JGB yield to a

fresh 30-year high. Real estate, which is sensitive

to interest rate moves, fell 1.8%.

Market breadth was negative with 156 losers on the Nikkei

against 68 winners. Among the biggest percentage losers in the

index were Mitsubishi Materials Corp ( MIMTF ), down 6.2%, and

Yokohama Rubber Co Ltd ( YORUF ), losing 4.4%.

(Reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)