By Sam Byford

TOKYO, July 14 (Reuters) - Japanese shares jumped on Thursday, as the yen dropping to a 24-year low helped in paring earlier losses on fears that U.S. inflation data could signal a global economic slowdown.

The Nikkei share average was up 0.70% at the close of the morning session.

It had opened down 0.63% after overnight CPI data showed U.S. inflation topped 9% in June, but quickly regained ground once the yen hit 138 to the U.S. dollar for the first time since 1998.

The broader Topix gained 0.16%.

U.S. stocks were down overnight, but all three major indices managed to limit their losses after plummeting on the release of the CPI data. "There's a sense of relief that stocks didn't collapse," a market participant at a domestic securities firm said.

Semiconductor and electrical components companies led the Nikkei, tracking overnight gains made by the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index. Keyence Corp was the best performer and gained 3.64%, while Tokyo Electron Ltd added 3.05% and Fujikura Ltd rose 2.73%.

Suzuki Motor Corp gained 2.61% after announcing last night that it would end its involvement in MotoGP in order to focus its resources on sustainability.

Utilities weighed heavily on the index, down 2.83% overall.

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc was the worst performer, down 8.75%. On Wednesday, the Tokyo district court ordered four former executives to pay 13 trillion yen ($94 billion) in damages in a lawsuit brought by shareholders over the company's handling of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Kansai Electric Power Co Inc and Chubu Electric Power Co Inc also made losses and were down 2.64% and 1.85%, respectively. ($1 = 137.9800 yen) (Reporting by Sam Byford and Tokyo markets team; Editing by Rashmi Aich)