* Exporters extend gains, steelmakers rise on upgrade * Eyes on U.S. earnings, such as Intel, as hopes rise
* Hopes for pause in yen rise also give a lift
By Elaine Lies
TOKYO, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average clawed up 0.9 percent on Tuesday as exporters such as Honda Motor Corp extended gains after the S&P 500 notched up its highest close of the year, while steelmakers climbed on a brokerage ratings hike.
Pioneer Corp shot up 9.6 percent after Citigroup Global Markets Japan upgraded it to "hold" from "sell", citing the share price's fall of 30 percent from a recent high as well as progress in restructuring.
But trade was muted ahead of corporate earnings reports in the United States and Japan, with major companies including Intel Corp due to report earnings later in the day.
"Though a lot of investors held back during the morning out of a wish to wait for Intel results, it seems now that some buying is emerging simply on expectations," said Takashi Ushio, head of the investment strategy division at Marusan Securities. "On top of indicators being good, there's hopes that the July-September results will prove better than thought, prompting buying -- much as happened this summer when markets rallied on expectations."
Others said hopes that a recent yen rise might be coming to an end helped underpin the market. The dollar edged up slightly to around 89.90 yen.
Many Japanese exporters have set their exchange rate assumptions for the dollar at around 90-95 yen for the financial year to March, with any yen advances raising worries about the negative impact on earnings.
The benchmark Nikkei rose 96.97 points to 10,112.68, while the broader Topix gained 0.8 percent to 904.80. The S&P 500 managed a sixth consecutive day of gains on Monday to end at its closing high for the year as energy shares rose along with the price of oil. Honda rose 2.9 percent to 2,830 yen, while Advantest Corp gained 3.6 perent to 2,460 yen and Kyocera Corp gained 1.9 percent to 8,140 yen.
JFE Holdings and other steel shares climbed after Goldman Sachs hiked its ratings on the companies and upgraded its coverage views on the steel sector in Asia to "attractive" from "neutral", saying demand for steel is likely to rise in 2010.
JFE Holdings jumped 6.1 percent to 3,310 yen, while Nippon Steel gained 6.2 percent to 358 yen and Kobe Steel added 4.9 percent to 171 yen.
The iron and steel subindex rose 5 percent to become the biggest gainer among the subindexes.
Shares of Pioneer surged to 239 yen. (Reporting by Elaine Lies; Editing by Hugh Lawson)