* Tokyo Electric falls to all-time low
* Post-quake rebound has run its course -analyst
* Chipmakers lower, in line with U.S. peers
By Chikafumi Hodo and Antoni Slodkowski
TOKYO, April 5 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average slipped more than 1 percent on Tuesday with the mood soured by Tokyo Electric Power's fall to an all-time low while the market's post-quake rebound looks to have run its course.
The Nikkei's climb over the previous two sessions took it near its 200-day moving average at 9,822 but that level and the 9,800 line proved to be stiff resistance for a market still troubled by uncertainty over the exact impact of the massive March 11 earthquake.
Underscoring those worries, shares of Tokyo Electric Power was down 11.5 percent and had dropped as much as 15 percent to a record low of 376 yen, as investor concerns mounted over the financial burdens of its tsunami-hit nuclear power plant which continues leaking radiation. [ID:nL3E7F502Sv]
"There was a sharp drop in the Nikkei and we've seen a swift rebound. That's normal. But from now on people will start pricing in fundamentals and that will push the market gradually lower, so we'll see more moves like today in the coming weeks," said Norihiro Fujito, senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.
By the midday break the benchmark Nikkei index had lost 1.2 percent or 112.17 points to 9,606.72, with foreign investors spotted heavily offloading blue-chip exporters.
Toyota Motor Co shed 2.7 percent to 3,250 yen and Hitachi Ltd lost 2.8 percent to 415 yen.
The broader Topix index lost 1.5 percent to 846.66.
Fujito said foreign investors were turning away from Japan to emerging markets such as India, Indonesia or Korea.
Foreigners, who account for more than 60 percent of trade on the Tokyo bourse, bought nearly 3 trillion yen ($35.7 billion) of Japan shares from November to March, including during dips after the panic post-quake sell-off, but are now looking to lighten their holdings especially in domestic-demand related sectors such as real estate and department stores, analysts said.
LIGHTENING HOLDINGS
The real estate sector has slid about 16 percent since the quake, compared with the Nikkei's loss of about 8 percent, on worries about a slump in demand and lower rents, while major retailing names, such as department store Takashimaya Co , are hovering almost 20 percent below their pre-quake levels.
Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper said on Tuesday that Tokyo Electric planned to start paying compensation to those who had to evacuate or suffered other losses due to the nuclear power crisis before damages have been assessed, although the utility said nothing had been decided on compensation payouts. [ID:nL3E7F434Q]
"If we think about all the people and businesses affected by the (nuclear) accident, and the compensation that would have to be paid, there's no way shareholders could be fully protected," said Fujito.
Chipmakers such as Elpida Memory Inc slipped after the Philadelphia semiconductor index fell almost 1 percent and Nomura Securities maintained a neutral view on semiconductor stocks, citing weakened demand, peak gross margins and higher capital spending in the sector.
Elpida fell 5.5 percent to 1,054 yen.
Oil prices hit their highest since 2008 on Monday on supply concerns, but oil-related shares such as Japan's largest oil and gas developer, Inpex Corp , and trading houses such as Mitsui & Co fell roughly in line with the benchmark.
"Resource stocks have broadly outperformed the market after the quake and it comes as no surprise that they find it hard to post further advances," said Hideo Arimura, senior fund manager at Mizuho Asset Management.
Resource-related shares have been bolstered by rising commodities prices and expectations of rising demand, as Japan rebuilds after the quake and uses more fossil fuels while it struggles with a prolonged nuclear crisis. Inpex has surged more over 18 percent since the quake.
Volume returned to pre-quake levels, with around 1.1 billion shares changing hands on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's first section. ($1 = 84.040 Japanese Yen) (Reporting by Antoni Slodkowski; Editing by Edmund Klamann)