TOKYO, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average recouped early losses on Wednesday to trade slightly higher, as investors bought back stocks following gains in U.S. stock futures.

By 0152 GMT, the Nikkei was up 0.18% at 31,914.73, after opening 0.44% lower. The broader Topix was up 0.14% at 2,268.90.

"Investor bought back shares after seeing gains in U.S. stock futures," said Jun Morita, general manager of the research department at Chibagin Asset Management. "They realised there were no reasons for selling stocks in a hurry."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500. ended slightly lower on Tuesday as investors stayed worried the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates higher for longer. The Nasdaq finished barely in positive territory.

Uniqlo brand owner Fast Retailing rose 0.76% and provided the biggest boost to the Nikkei. Air-conditioning maker Daikin Industries gained 2.67%, while soy sauce maker Kikkoman jumped 3.66%.

Central Japan Railway, which runs bullet train between Tokyo and Osaka, advanced 2.59% after the railway firm conducted a stock split.

Chip-related heavyweights fell, with Tokyo Electron and Advantest down 0.87% and 1.55%, respectively. Technology start-up investor SoftBank Group lost 1.35%.

The banking index slipped 0.23%, tracking a fall in the U.S. financial sector after an S&P downgrade of credit ratings of multiple regional U.S. lenders.

Shibaura Mechatronics fell 9.56% after the semiconductor-making equipment maker said its top shareholders, including Toshiba, would sell its shares in the market.

(Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)