TOKYO, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Japanese shares traded higher on Thursday as investors bought back beaten down growth stocks, while automakers rose after Toyota Motor posted a record monthly global sales.

By 0155 GMT the Nikkei index was 0.6% up at 32,512.26, on course to post its fourth straight session of gains. The broader Topix rose 0.52% to 2,325.38.

U.S. stocks ended higher overnight as fresh economic data signalled a cooling U.S. economy, reinforcing expectations that the Federal Reserve will pause rate hikes in September.

"Movement of U.S. Treasury yields became steady, which gave comfort to investors who had sold growth stocks when the yields were on the rise. They bought back those stocks, such as chip-related shares," said Shoichi Arisawa, general manager of the investment research department at IwaiCosmo Securities.

"Also, investors gained confidence in manufacturers' stocks after Toyota announced robust global sales. The weak yen also support their performance."

Chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron rose 1.27% and chip-testing equipment maker Advantest gained 1.3%.

Toyota Motor rose 1.97% after the automaker reported an 8% jump in July global sales to a record 859,506 vehicles.

Honda Motor and Nissan Motor gained 1.18% and 0.5%, respectively.

The auto sector jumped 1.48% to become the top gainer among the Tokyo Stock Exchange's 33 industry sub-indexes.

Railway operators rose, with Odakyu Electric Railway climbing 3.2% to become the top gainer on the Nikkei. Tobu Railway rose 2.84%.

The brokerage sector slipped 0.28% to become the worst performer among the sub-indexes, while the banking sector lost 0.12%. (Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Rashmi Aich)