TOKYO, March 17 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average

rallied amid widespread gains on Monday as investor sentiment

got a boost from a sharp rise in U.S. stocks at the end of last

week.

The Nikkei rose 1% to 37,413.28 as of 0010 GMT,

while the broader Topix was up 1.1%.

All three major U.S. stock indexes posted solid gains on

Friday as investors hunted for bargains at the end of a

tumultuous week, with recently battered tech-related megacaps

enjoying a strong comeback.

Japan's heavyweight semiconductor-related stocks followed

their U.S. peers higher on Monday, giving the heftiest lift to

the overall index.

Among major stocks, AI-focused startup investor SoftBank

Group, Uniqlo parent Fast Retailing ( FRCOF ), and

chip-related shares Tokyo Electron ( TOELF ) and Advantest ( ADTTF )

all gained. Auto giant Toyota Motor ( TM ) also

climbed.