Oil shares support Nikkei; Sony surges on hedge fund's break-up call

* Nikkei has gained 0.9% on weekly basis so far
* Sony jumps 4% after Third Point calls on firm to spin-off
chip
unit
* Market focuses on FOMC

By Ayai Tomisawa
TOKYO, June 14 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei edged up on
Friday, with oil shares rallying after attacks on two oil
tankers in the Gulf of Oman stoked concerns of reduced crude
flows through one of the world's key shipping routes.
Sony Corp 6758.T was in the spotlight, with the stock
rallying as much as 4% after Daniel Loeb's activist hedge fund
Third Point LLC called on the company on Thursday to spin off
its semiconductor business and sell off stakes in Sony Financial
and other units. The Nikkei share average .N225 tacked on 0.2% to 21,066.26
in midmorning trade, after slipping into negative territory
earlier. For the week, the index is up 0.9%.
Nikkei 225 futures and options contracts expiring in June
will likely settle at the price of 21,060.56, according to
estimates by brokers. The closely watched settlement price,
known in Japan as the special quotation, or SQ, is calculated
from the opening prices of the 225 shares in the Nikkei share
average on the second Friday of the month.
The official figure is due out after the market closes on
Friday.
The mining .IMING.T and oil .IPETE.T sectors were top
performers on the board after oil prices surged on Thursday.
Inpex Corp 1605.T rose 1.3%, Japan Petroleum Exploration Co
1662.T gained 1.1%, while Idemitsu Kosan 5019.T surged 2.2%
It was the second time in a month tankers have been attacked
in the world's most important zone for oil supplies, amid rising
tensions between the United States and Iran. Washington quickly
blamed Iran for Thursday's attacks, but Tehran denied it was
responsible. "While there is strong demand in oil-related shares amid the
oil sector's volatility, most investors are cautious about
taking positions before big events later this month," said
Takatoshi Itoshima, a strategist at Pictet Asset Management.
He said investors are looking to next week's U.S. Federal
Reserve meeting for cues on a possible interest rate cut in the
wake of mounting risks to trade and global growth.
Financial markets also remain on edge ahead of a possible
meeting between U.S. and Chinese leaders at the G20 summit in
Japan later this month, as trade tensions between the world's
biggest economies showed no signs of letting up.
The gains in oil shares triggered buying in other
commodity-related stocks such as metal producers. Mitsubishi
Materials 5711.T gained 1.3% and Mitsui Mining & Smelting
5706.T jumped 1.8%.
The broader Topix .TOPX rose 0.2% to 1,544.93.

(Editing by Shri Navaratnam)