* Nikkei retreats from 8-wk closing low hit on Monday
* Exporters benefit from Wall St rally, yen
* Nissan, carmakers up after China business expansion report
* U.S. financials' earnings due this week in focus
By Aiko Hayashi
TOKYO, July 14 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average gained 2.2 percent on Tuesday, buoyed by exporters such as Sony Corp after bullish analyst comments boosted confidence about the U.S. financial sector.
Komatsu Ltd jumped more than 6 percent after the Nikkei business daily said the company returned to profitability in the April-June quarter, helped by cost cuts and recovering demand in China and other emerging economies.
A halt in the yen's sharp appreciation against the dollar also helped the Nikkei rise from an eight-week closing low booked on Monday.
In comments to CNBC television, well-known analyst Meredith Whitney said U.S. bank shares were in for at least a short-term gain of 15 percent.
"After a recent bearish run, the market has been looking an opportunity to rebound, and the analyst comments on the financial sector fit the bill," said Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities.
Whitney said major financials, including Bank of America Corp and JPMorgan Chase & Co, which along with Goldman Sachs are scheduled to report results this week, could do well in the second quarter.
Whitney, who has in the past been bearish, also upgraded Goldman to "buy", driving its stock higher.
"But we won't know anything for sure until we see their actual numbers. I expect today's gains to be somewhat limited," said Miura.
In moderate trade, the benchmark Nikkei advanced 201.05 points to 9,251.38. It slid 2.6 percent the previous day to hit its lowest finish since May 18 and for its ninth day of falls. It lost 9.1 percent over that nine-day period.
The broader Topix rose 1.9 percent to 868.54.
In early Asia trade, the dollar was trading around 93 yen after hitting a five-month trough of 91.73 yen. Investors welcome a weaker yen as it boosts exporters' profits when they are repatriated.
On Monday, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 2.5 percent.
NISSAN, AUTOMAKERS STRONG
Automakers rose after the Nikkei business daily said major Japanese carmakers such as Nissan Motor Co and Honda Motor are raising production capacity in China as brisk local demand helps prop up their earnings at a time when sales virtually everywhere else are in a steep slump.
Nissan surged 7.7 percent to 547 yen after the Nikkei reported that the automaker will boost production capacity in China by 20 percent. Honda rose 1.5 percent to 2,405 yen and Toyota Motor Corp added 3 percent to 3,480 yen.
Other exporters gained. Sony jumped 5.8 percent to 2,290 yen and Canon Inc climbed 3.4 percent to 3,020 yen.
Shares of Komatsu shot up 6.3 percent to 1,377 yen. It will likely report an operating profit to 5 billion yen ($54 million) for the April-June quarter, compared to a 48.2 billion yen operating loss in the January-March quarter although that is still a 94 percent fall from a year earlier, the Nikkei said.
Banks such as Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Mizuho Financial Group gained after Whitney's comments boosted their U.S. peers.
SMFG powered 6 percent higher to 3,720 yen and Mizuho rose 4.7 percent to 202 yen. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Japan's largest bank, advanced 3.4 percent to 551 yen.
Shares of Kirin Holdings added 1.9 percent to 1,419 yen after soaring 8 percent to a nine-month high on Monday on hopes for a merger with Suntory, which would create one of the world's largest beverage and food companies.
Some 1.1 billion shares changed hands on the Tokyo exchange's first section, in line with last week's morning average.
Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones by more than 2 to 1.
(Editing by Edwina Gibbs)