Japan's Nikkei ends higher on Wall Street gains, ASML's strong outlook

"The market was relieved that the earnings of ASML was strong," said Fumio Matsumoto, chief strategist at Okasan Securities.

"But investors are not fully confident about a comeback of a strong rally of AI stocks, and they will probably continue to adjust positions between sectors."

The tech-heavy Nikkei's rally paused last month on global concerns over overvaluation of technology stocks, but sentiment remained strong as investors shifted their focus to value stocks, such as financials.

On Wednesday, ASML's peer Tokyo Electron rose 4.37%, and chip-testing equipment maker Advantest 6857.T was up 5.83%.

Financial stocks rose, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group 8306.T and Nomura Holdings 8604.T gaining 2.69% and 4.7%, respectively.

Shares of system developers fell following a 25% decline in IBM IBM.N overnight after the U.S. company warned second-quarter revenue would fall below estimates.

NEC 6701.T and Nomura Research 4307.T fell 4.32% and 2.51%, respectively, while computer maker Fujitsu 6702.T lost 4.7%. Consulting firm BayCurrent6532.T fell 6.79%.

SoftBank Group 9984.T fell 3.26%, weighing most on the Nikkei. Uniqlo-brand owner Fast Retailing 9983.T slipped 0.49%.

TOKYO, July 15 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average rose on Wednesday, as chip-related shares rallied after Wall Street's solid overnight finish and chip equipment maker ASML's strong outlook.

The Nikkei .N225 closed 1.49% higher at 68,751.51, and the broader Topix .TOPX rose 1.22% to 4,088.12.