* Risk-taking likely emerging, helping Japan stocks -analyst
* Yen strength likely to cap further climbs -analysts
* Nikkei's next target seen around 9,700-800
By Aiko Hayashi
TOKYO, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei rose 1.8 percent on Thursday, buoyed by a jump in resource stocks as dollar weakness fuelled a climb in commodity prices.
Robust earnings results from U.S. heavyweights such as JPMorgan Chase & Co and Intel Corp have bolstered investor confidence and helped to spur short-covering, analysts said, but worries about Japanese earnings due to the persistent strength in the yen will likely keep gains in check.
"Expectations of further easing by the United States have led to dollar weakness and thus to a rally in commodities. A so-called risk-taking money flow is emerging in the market," said Yumi Nishimura, deputy general manager at Daiwa Securities Capital Markets.
"The market also welcomed U.S. earnings that haven't been as poor as feared. But currency moves remain the top focus in the Tokyo market and the strong yen will likely cap gains, particularly in exporter shares."
The benchmark Nikkei was up 172.05 points at 9,575.56, after rising as much as 2 percent to 9,591.38.
The broader Topix gained 1.5 percent to 835.08.
In early Asian trade, the dollar changed hands at 81.58 yen, not far from a 15-year low of 81.37 yen hit on Monday, though caution remained that Japanese authorities could intervene the closer the greenback gets to its record low of 79.75 yen.
U.S. stocks rose about 1 percent as stronger-than-expected earnings and lingering U.S. dollar weakness increased demand for equities. But Dow components JPMorgan Chase & Co and Intel saw their shares slide after recent rallies, despite the lift to sentiment from their strong results.
On the charts, the Nikkei's next upward targets stand near its recent peaks: the first around 9,700 marked earlier this month, and then near 9,800 hit in July.
The Nikkei is expected to find strong support at the 38.2 percent retracement of its September-October rally and its 55-day moving average, both of which stand around 9,365.
Resource-related stocks jumped, with copper hitting a 27-month high and gold returning to record peaks.
Mitsui Mining and Smelting advanced 4.9 percent to 258 yen and Sumitomo Metal Mining rose 3.2 percent to 1,441 yen. Shares of JX Holdings, which owns Japan's top copper smelter Pan Pacific Copper, climbed 4.3 percent to 482 yen.
Yahoo Japan Corp shot up 5.3 percent to 30,300 yen after the Wall Street Journal reported several private equity firms, including Silver Lake Partners and Blackstone Group, are considering buying Yahoo Inc either by teaming up with AOL Inc or taking it private themselves. (Editing by Edmund Klamann)