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

inched higher on Thursday, as investors snapped up chip-related

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

The Nikkei had risen 0.21% to 39,498.57 by the

midday break. 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 were up 2.18% 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 13% so far this week after the rising

popularity of Chinese startup DeepSeek's AI model 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

2.15% and silicon wafer maker Shin-Etsu Chemical ( SHECF ) gained

1.17%.

Technology start-up investor SoftBank Group fell

1.05% to weigh the most on the Nikkei.

Of the 225 components of the Nikkei index, 128 stocks rose

and 95 fell, with two trading flat.

The broader Topix inched up 0.15% to 2,779.78.

Audio equipment and camera maker Sony Group ( SONY ) fell

1.46% to weigh on the Topix the most.