Nikkei rises, techs gain after Apple's strong results

* Tech shares, factory automation stocks lead gains

* Further gains above 10,000 may depend on Japanese
corporate earnings

* Nikkei posts biggest gain since June 22

By Ayai Tomisawa

TOKYO, July 20 (Reuters) - The Nikkei average posted the
biggest jump in a month to trade above 10,000 on Wednesday with
tech shares climbing on strong earnings from Apple Inc ,
while factory automation stocks surged after solid earnings by
Yaskawa Electric .

Blockbuster sales of the iPhone and strong Asian business
again helped Apple Inc surpass Wall Street
expectations, driving its shares up more than 7 percent to
record highs.

Toshiba Corp , a maker of NAND flash memories, rose
2.7 percent to 413 yen and Foster Electric , which makes
headphones for smartphones, jumped to a one-week high in heavy
volume, gaining 2.4 percent to 1,531 yen.

"The market may stay strong throughout the day on hopes that
U.S. earnings will continue to cheer investors," said Naoki
Fujiwara, a fund manager at Shinkin Asset Management, adding
that if Intel Corp's results later in the day are good,
tech shares may continue climbing.

The benchmark Nikkei was up 1.4 percent at
10,032.52. It touched an intraday high of 10,042.75 in its
biggest daily jump since June 22. The broader Topix index
gained 1.1 percent to 863.52.

Oil-related shares also gained, with Inpex rising
1.9 percent to 600,000 yen and Japan Petroleum Exploration
adding 1.4 percent to 3,955 yen after oil rose more
than 1 percent on Tuesday, helped by strong U.S. housing data
and progress in U.S. deficit reduction talks.

Market observers said that while signs of a U.S. economic
recovery help Japanese shares rise, further gains would depend
on Japanese corporate earnings due out next week.

"Until then, the Nikkei may hover around the 10,000 line,"
said Shinkin's Fujiwara.

Factory automation stocks outperformed after industrial
robot maker Yaskawa Electric's solid earnings for the April-June
quarter lifted sentiment.

Yaskawa added 1.5 percent to 925 yen, Fanuc jumped
4.0 percent to 14,470 yen and THK surged 2.5 percent to
2,079 yen.

(Additional reporting by Antoni Slodkowski; Editing by Michael
Watson)