Nikkei posts worst week in 2 months, despite Apple-inspired rebound

Japan's Nikkei rebounded on Friday from a 14-week closing low, buoyed by strong earnings from Apple Inc, but still registered its biggest weekly drop in two months.

The Nikkei held gains from the morning, fluctuating very little following the midday break, to end the day 2.09% higher at 26,717.34. It was its first session of gain in four, with nearly 10 stocks rising for every one that fell.

"There's a feeling that the sell-off has gone too far, so it's natural for there to be some buying back of shares," said Koji Toda, a fund manager at Resona Asset Management.

"If gains slow close to 27,000, it could be a sign of more turbulence ahead."

For the week, the Nikkei declined 2.93%, its fourth straight weekly drop, as Japanese stocks joined a global sell-off amid worries about an accelerated pace of U.S. monetary policy tightening.

The broader Topix rallied 1.87%, but was still 2.61% lower for the week.

Apple, the world's largest company by market value, posted record sales over the holiday quarter, beating analyst estimates. Nasdaq futures rose 1.2% in Asia trade, after the index shed 1.2% overnight.

Sony Group jumped 3.95%, rebounding from its weakest level since early October. Toyota Motor gained 3.42%, climbing from its lowest closing level this year. Uniqlo store operator Fast Retailing was the biggest support by index points, rising 3.42% from its weakest level in nearly two weeks.

Fuji Electric surged 10.43% to become the Nikkei's biggest percentage gainer, after posting strong earnings late on Thursday.

SoftBank Group rose 2.20%, recovering after hitting a fresh 20-month low earlier in the day.

Chip stocks were mixed. Advantest soared 4.09% after forecasting a big increase in operating profit. Renesas gained 1.98%.

Tokyo Electron, however, slipped 1.32% to a fresh three-month low, making it the Nikkei's biggest drag by index points.

Fujitsu was the biggest percentage decliner on the benchmark index, tumbling 9.95% after posting disappointing results.

Japanese stocks suffered their biggest foreign outflows in seven weeks last week, with cross-border investors selling 582.91 billion yen ($5.05 billion) worth of equities in the period ended Jan. 21, data from Japanese exchanges showed.

(Reporting by Tokyo markets team; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)