TOKYO, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Japanese stocks rose on Wednesday, tracking overnight Wall Street gains buoyed by strong U.S. corporate earnings.

The Nikkei 225 share average opened up 0.25% and extended gains to 0.72%, staying above the key psychological level of 27,000, with no sign of the volatile trading seen in the previous day. It was at 27,353.87 at the break.

The broader Topix index rose 0.42%.

"Japanese stocks have been fairly steady compared to U.S. stocks," said Seiji Arai, senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.

"Stocks have been performing well in Japan due to the exchange rate, so even if earnings decline it may not have a big impact on financial results, which is why they can stay firm," he said.

All three major Wall Street indexes made gains overnight after better-than-expected results from Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Lockheed Martin.

Of the Nikkei's 225 constituents, 127 advanced, 89 declined, and nine traded flat.

The Nikkei's best performer was Tokyo Electric Power Company , which gained 3.98%. Utilities gained 2.17%, more than any other sector.

SoftBank Group Corp gained 3.21% and Fast Retailing Co Ltd rose 1.82%, further boosting the index.

Credit Saison Co Ltd led losses, dropping 7.41%, after it emerged that City Index Eleventh, a fund backed by activist investor Yoshiaki Murakami, had reduced its holdings in the credit services firm. (Reporting by Sam Byford; Editing by Rashmi Aich)