Nikkei jumps, hope for U.S. autos beats weak tankan

                                
 * Nikkei up 4.7 pct after falling 5.56 pct in previous day
                                
 * Hope for U.S. autos lifeline prevails over tankan data
                                
 * BOJ tankan shows sentiment sees sharpest fall since 1974
                                
 * Dollar rises towards 91 yen, boosting exporters
  (Adds details, stocks)
                                
 By Elaine Lies
                                
 TOKYO, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average jumped 4.7
percent on Monday on hope a lifeline may still be given to
struggling U.S. automakers, with a stronger dollar against the
yen boosting exporters such as Canon Inc <7751.T>.
Honda Motor Co <7267.T> and other automakers climbed after
the White House said on Friday the administration would consider
using part of the Treasury's $700 billion bailout package for
financial institutions to keep the Big 3 automakers afloat after
an autos bailout bill failed in the Senate. [ID:nN14461208]
                                
 These expectations helped the market shrug off the Bank of
Japan's tankan corporate survey, which showed that business
sentiment has suffered its sharpest fall since 1974 to hit a
nearly seven-year low. Market players said the results had been
mostly as expected and already factored in. [ID:nT91198]
                                
 "The tankan was bad but this has mostly been factored in
already, it's not today's news," said Masayoshi Okamoto, head of
dealing at Jujiya Securities.
                                
 "Today's trade is based on the U.S. auto situation. Something
needs to be done to save them, not just for Japan but for the
world."
                                
 Hope about the potential lifeline for the automakers,
including giant General Motors <GM.N>, helped boost U.S. shares
on Friday, though the White House later said there would be no
word on the bailout for a while.
                                
 But even this was enough to lift Tokyo shares despite the
poor tankan numbers.
                                
 The headline index for big manufacturers' sentiment fell to a
nearly seven-year low of minus 24, down from minus 3 in the
previous survey in September and just below economists' median
forecast of minus 23. [JBBCLG=ECI]
                                
 "The tankan was very bad and the forecast especially very
bad, much worse than expected. Stocks should not be rising," said
Nagayuki Yamagishi, a strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities.
                                
 "But relief over the auto bailout lifted Wall Street, and
this is lifting the Nikkei as well. That's the main thing."
                                
 The benchmark Nikkei <.N225> gained 390.13 points to 8,626.00
after falling 5.56 percent on Friday after the auto bailout bill
fell apart in the U.S. Senate. The broader Topix <.TOPX> gained
3.9 percent to 845.21.
                                
 YEN RETREAT, EXPORTER ADVANCE
                                
 The dollar climbed above 91 yen in morning trade, off a
13-year low of 88.10 yen hit on Friday, though it fell back
slightly by midday to 90.90 yen <JPY=>.
                                
 Exporters gained as a result, led by automakers up both on
the stronger dollar as well as the bailout hopes. A strong yen
eats into exporters' profits when repatriated.
                                
 Honda  <7267.T> rose 7.8 percent to 2,070 yen and Toyota
Motor Co <7203.T> gained 7.4 percent to 2,965 yen. Nissan Motor
Co <7201.T> rose 6.5 percent to 328 yen.
                                
 Toyota also shrugged off Japanese media reports on Saturday
that it is likely to further cut its earnings forecasts and
report an operating loss of about 100 billion yen ($1 billion) in
the October-March period.
                                
 A company spokesman declined to comment. [ID:nT137473]
                                
 Canon climbed 5.2 percent to 2,725 yen and Sony Corp <6758.T>
gained 4 percent to 1,935 yen. Panasonic Corp <6752.T> rose 1.7
percent.
                                
 High-tech shares rose after their U.S. peers gained sharply
on expectations that large stockpiles in cash at technology
companies will help them weather the economic downturn, boosting
the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index by 4.7 percent <.SOXX>.
                                
 Advantest Corp <6857.T> rose 7.5 percent to 1,227 yen and TDK
Corp <6762.T> gained 7 percent to 3,070 yen. Tokyo Electron
<8035.T> rose 4.2 percent to 2,580 yen.
                                
 Shippers also climbed after a key freight index rose.
                                
 Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd <9104.T>, operator of the world's
biggest fleet of bulkers for shipping iron ore, surged 10.2
percent to 605 yen, while Nippon Yusen KK <9101.T>, Japan's
biggest shipping company in terms of sales, jumped 5.7 percent to
555 yen.
                                
 The Baltic Dry Index <.BADI>, the global freight index of
prices for shipping commodities, jumped 7.5 percent on Friday.
                                
 Trade was light on the Tokyo exchange's first section, with
856.8 million shares changing hands, compared with last week's
morning average of 1 billion.
                                
 Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones by more than 14
to  1.
                                
 (Reporting by Elaine Lies; editing by Sophie Hardach)