* Nikkei edges up, helped by strong Intel results
* Chip-related shares such as Elpida, Tokyo Electron rise
* Nikkei's gains capped as yen still near 15-year high
By Chikafumi Hodo
TOKYO, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average rose 0.9 percent on Wednesday as an advance in U.S. stocks prompted short-covering, but further gains were limited as the yen stayed near a 15-year high versus the dollar.
Sentiment towards the Nikkei improved after the index had lost more than 2 percent on Tuesday, with chip-related stocks advancing after shares of Intel Corp, the world's largest chipmaker, rose on strong fourth-quarter sales and margins.
"The Nikkei edged higher, but it struggled to catch up with the U.S. market as the strength of the yen is continuing to weigh on Japanese shares," said Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management.
By midmorning the benchmark Nikkei was up 84.93 points at 9,477.61.
The broader Topix advanced 0.8 percent to 830.74.
Intel's strong results raised hopes that the technology sector could end 2010 on a strong note, pushing up chip-related shares.
Elpida Memory Inc rose 1.6 percent to 900 yen, also buoyed after the Nikkei business daily reported the PC memory maker and Sharp Corp will co-develop a next-generation memory chip for commercialisation in 2013.
Chip-gear maker Tokyo Electron Ltd gained 1.6 percent to 4,560 yen and chip-tester maker Advantest Corp rose 0.5 percent to 1,682 yen.
Still, the Nikkei struggled to post strong gains due to the strength of the yen.
The dollar rose 0.2 percent to 81.84 yen, but was not far away from a 15-year low of 81.37 struck on Monday.
"The market is watching for possible Japanese intervention. But as long as the yen stays strong, the Nikkei will stay under pressure," Ichiyoshi's Akino said.
The Nikkei edged up above its 25-day moving average of 9,438, but stayed below the 75-day average of 9,385.
Traders said the Nikkei's technical trend has not turned weak and it could still test recent peaks around 9,700 hit this month and 9,800 reached in July. (Reporting by Chikafumi Hodo; Editing by Chris Gallagher)