Tokyo, April 18 (BridgeNews) - Japanese shares ended the morning session sharply higher as high-technology issues lifted sentiment on the back of a sharp bounce in the Nasdaq 100 futures contract on Globex following better-than-expected Intel Corp. earnings, together with modest gains in U.S. shares overnight. The Nikkei surged 3.6%, or 467.70 points, to 13,534.79.