Semiconductor-related shares advanced, with Advantest surging 3.7 percent and Tokyo Electron rising 1.7 percent. Technology investor SoftBank added 1.4 percent.

The Nikkei briefly slid to its lowest intraday level since September 18 at 36,705.02, but reversed early losses to rise0.6% at 37,095.85 by the midday break. The broader Topix was up 0.2% at 2,714.54.