Japan stocks track Wall Street higher, Shiseido soars

* Nikkei rises 0.44%, pulls away from 7-month low
* Renewed U.S.-China trade dispute limits gains
* Shiseido soars on earnings

By Shinichi Saoshiro
TOKYO, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Japanese stocks rose on Friday with
the Nikkei pulling away from seven-month lows as investors took
heart from a bounce on Wall Street, although fresh concerns
about global trade hung over sentiment.
Gains were limited by renewed worries over the U.S.-China
trade dispute after a report that the White House is delaying a
decision on whether to allow U.S. companies to do business with
China's Huawei Technologies. The Nikkei share average .N225 ended the day up 0.44% at
20,684.82.
The index slid to 21,110.76 on Tuesday, its lowest since
Jan. 10, as the escalating U.S.-China trade war knocked
sentiment. It was headed for a weekly loss of roughly 1.7%.
"It wasn't a very proactive rise today with equities gaining
mostly in the absence of major bad news," said Soichiro Monji,
senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management.
"We should see the market finally enter its summer lull next
week, although East Asian geopolitical risks, such as the unrest
in Hong Kong, will bear watching," he added.
Natural gas and oil developer Inpex Corp 1605.T advanced
2.6% after its operating profit soared 40.7% in the April-June
quarter. Cosmetics company Shiseido Co 4911.T climbed 8.1% after
reporting an increase in sales for the January-June period
thanks in part to steady demand in the Chinese market.
Shinsei Bank 8303.T slid 11.8% after private equity
investor JC Flowers & Co said it will sell $700 million of the
lender's shares. Fuji Film Holdings Corp 4901.T sank 6% as its net profit
slid 48.2% in the April-June quarter amid a decline in the sales
of its camera department. The broader Topix .TOPX added 0.35% to 1,503.84. Advancing
issues outnumbered decliners 1,209 to 837.
Of Tokyo's 33 sub-indexes, 24 ended in positive territory,
led by textiles .ITXTL.T and mining .IMING.T .

(Editing by Darren Schuettler)