TOKYO, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average

rose on Wednesday, led by heavyweight technology stocks, but the

gains were capped due to persistent worries about the U.S.

tariff policy.

The Nikkei rose 0.16% to 38,863.82 by the midday

break. It gained as much as 0.78% earlier in the session.

The broader Topix reversed early gains to fall 0.28%

to 2,725.45.

"Although Japan is not yet a direct target of the tariff

policy of the U.S., whenever we hear about anything new about

this subject, the market becomes nervous," said Shuutarou

Yasuda, a market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Intelligence Laboratory.

"The auto sector is the most sensitive to the tariff

issues."

The U.S. President on Monday raised tariffs on steel and

aluminum imports to 25% from the previous 10%, eliminated

country exceptions, as well as product-specific exclusions, and

promised to announce global reciprocal tariffs within days.

Overnight, the Nasdaq declined, but the Dow Jones

Industrial and S&P 500 climbed.

Japan's stock market was closed on Tuesday for a public

holiday.

Among stocks that lifted the benchmark Nikkei, chip-testing

equipment maker Advantest ( ADTTF ) rose 2.13% and SoftBank Group

gained 2.15%.

Medical services platform operator M3 surged 18% to

become the top percentage gainer on the Nikkei.

Cable makers, a gauge for data centre investments, rose on

the day, with Fujikura ( FKURF ) and Furukawa Electric ( FUWAF )

jumping 6% and 4%, respectively.

Auto stocks slipped 1.32%. The sector

declined as Toyota Motor ( TM ) fell 1.47%, Honda Motor ( HMC )

shed 1.23% and Nissan Motor ( NSANF ) slumped 6.8%.

Brokerages lost 2.13% to become the worst

performing sector among the 33 sub-indexes.

Of the 225 Nikkei components, 85 stocks rose and 137 fell,

while three traded flat.