Japanese stocks buoyed by oil shares; Sony surges on hedge fund's break-up call

* Nikkei up 1.1% for the week
* Sony jumps 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 rose on Friday,
with energy shares rallying after attacks on two oil tankers in
the Gulf of Oman pushed crude oil prices sharply higher.
Sony Corp 6758.T also was in the spotlight, with the stock
ending 3.1% higher 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 0.4% to
21,116.89, after slipping into negative territory in early
trade. For the week, the index gained 1.1%.
Nikkei 225 futures and options contracts expiring in June
settled at the price of 21,060.56. 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 mining .IMING.T and oil .IPETE.T sectors
outperformed. Inpex Corp 1605.T rose 1.3%, Japan Petroleum
Exploration Co 1662.T gained 1.5%, while Idemitsu Kosan
5019.T surged 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. Analysts said that while there was strong demand for
oil-related shares, most investors stayed on the sidelines
before next week's U.S. Federal Reserve meeting, which could
offer more clues on the chances of interest rate cuts in the
wake of mounting risks to trade and global growth.
"The Fed's stance on monetary policy and headlines related
to U.S.-China trade disputes will likely determine the market's
direction next week," said Chihiro Ohta, general manager at SMBC
Nikko Securities.
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.
Gains in oil shares triggered buying in other
commodity-related stocks such as metal producers. Mitsubishi
Materials 5711.T and Mitsui Mining & Smelting 5706.T both
gained 1.3%.
The broader Topix .TOPX rose 0.3% to 1,546.71.

(Editing by Kim Coghill)