TOKYO, April 15 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average fell on Friday, as heavyweight technology stocks tracked overnight weakness on Wall Street, but losses were limited as investors bought back stocks at a dent ahead of the overseas long weekend.

By 0211 GMT, the Nikkei index was down 0.3% at 27,101.07, but gave up most of its losses and even turned positive briefly.

The broader Topix had slipped 0.61% to 1,89638.

For the week, the Nikkei was set to lose 0.4% and Topix was on course to end flat.

Wall Street closed lower on Thursday at the end of a holiday-shortened week, as bond yields resumed their uphill climb and investors contended with mixed earnings and economic data.

"The direction of the Japanese market totally depends on the U.S. market these days, with not much market moving cues in Japan," said Takatoshi Itoshima, strategist at Pictet Asset Management.

"But the decline on the market was limited today because investors bought back stocks as they bet there would be no major moves on the markets overnight due to the long weekend in the U.S. and elsewhere."

Chip giants Tokyo Electron and Advantest led declines on the Nikkei, falling 4.11% and 3.92%, respectively.

Technology investor SoftBank Group slipped 1.37% and game maker Sony Group lost 3.135.

Subaru fell 3.49% after the automaker suspended shipment of some of its three main automobile models over an engine sensor malfunction and also plans to temporarily halt production of the models.

Uniqlo clothing shop owner Fast Retailing jumped 7.27% and was the top gainer on the Nikkei even after the retailer flagged a big profit drop in China due to COVID-19 restrictions. (Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Rashmi Aich)