2013.05.2407:08:04UTC+00Nikkei recoups some of Thursday's 7.3

The Nikkei share average regained ground on Friday after a 7.3-percent dive in the previous session, which most market watchers said marked a long-overdue correction and didn't presage the end of a remarkable six-month bull-run.

Thursday's biggest one-day percentage drop in two years was triggered by weak manufacturing activity data in China, Japan's second-biggest export market, as well as worries about an earlier-than-expected roll-back of U.S. stimulus.

The Nikkei climbed 2.7 percent to 14,867.90 after trading as high as 15,007.50. Despite Thursday's slide, the index is up 7.3 percent so far this month, on track for a 10th straight month of gains -- its longest such winning streak since 1972.

"This shows the strength and the robustness of the market. You are not getting panic investment," said a Tokyo-based analyst, who declined to be identified. "I'm surprised it didn't sell off another day. This goes to show that people want to put assets to work."

The Nikkei is up over 70 percent since mid-November, buoyed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's policy prescription of aggressive monetary and fiscal policies to revive the world's third-largest economy.

Toyota Motor Corp rebounded 2.4 percent and was the second-most traded stock on the main board by turnover, while Mazda Motor Corp jumped 7.2 percent after tumbling 7.6 percent in the previous session.

"It's just a speed bump, in my view. The Japanese market is due for a technical correction after strong returns we have this year," said U.S.-based Audrey Kaplan, fund manager of the $656 million Federated InterContinental Fund.

"The economic conditions in Japan are substantially better than they were a few months ago. That will support the market going forward," she said, adding that she has increased Japan weightings in her fund to 20 percent from 14.9 percent at the end of March.

Japanese companies' one-month earnings momentum -- analysts' earnings upgrades minus downgrades as a total of estimates -- stood at 9.8 percent this month versus 9.7 percent in April, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. It was minus 7.2 percent in December.

Among Kaplan's top picks in the currency-sensitive exporters were farm equipment and machinery maker Kubota Corp and Toto Ltd, maker of sanitary earthenware and faucets.

Kubota was up 2.9 percent and Toto gained 3.3 percent.