* Sentiment index at -64, up 6 points from 18-mth low in Sept
* Currency intervention, BOJ easing lift sentiment slightly
* But yen strength clouds outlook for export-reliant economy
* Investors say Tokyo should keep intervening to tame yen
By Chikafumi Hodo and Mari Terawaki
TOKYO, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Japanese retail investor sentiment towards domestic stocks improved for the first time in six months in October as share prices rose, though it remained near an 18-month low hit last month as the yen stayed strong, a Reuters poll showed.
Japanese shares got a boost earlier in the month after the Bank of Japan cut interest rates to virtually zero and pledged to pump more funds into the struggling economy.
"We are seeing effective policies such as currency market intervention and credit easing steps. The outlook is positive as the corporate outlook doesn't necessarily look bad," an investor in his 50s said in the survey.
Still, many investors were worried about the outlook for the export-led economy as the yen held near a 15-year high against the dollar, and think Tokyo should continue to intervene in the currency market to help support the economy, the survey showed on Wednesday.
The Reuters sentiment index, calculated by subtracting the percentage of investors who say they are bearish from those who are bullish, edged up to minus 64 -- the first rise since April -- from minus 70 in September -- the lowest since March 2009.
The monthly survey of 695 Japanese individual investors was conducted Oct. 4-7, during which time the benchmark Nikkei average reached a two-month closing high in the wake of the BOJ's easing announcement. The Nikkei was also up more than 7 percent from the survey period the previous month.
Japan intervened in the currency market last month for the first time in six years to stem a rise in the yen that is threatening a fragile economic recovery. But the yen has continued to strengthen against the dollar since the intervention, keeping investors nervous.
The dollar stood around 81.40 yen on Wednesday, below the level where Japan was seen to have intervened around 83 yen. The greenback hit a 15-year low of 80.88 last week, not far from a record low of 79.75 hit in 1995.
"Japan is losing its competitiveness against other countries as the yen remains strong. Domestic demand will keep falling in this kind of situation," an investor in his 60s said.
The survey also showed that more than 60 percent of respondents said the dollar in a range of 90-105 yen would be favourable for the Japanese economy.
The monthly poll, which is conducted anonymously, aims to capture the views of readers of an online magazine aimed at users of the Reuters Japan website http://www.reuters.co.jp (Reporting by Chikafumi Hodo; Editing by Chris Gallagher)