TOKYO, April 10 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average rose on Monday as comments from a U.S. central banker lifted the dollar against the yen, bolstering exporter stocks, while rising U.S. yields helped financial stocks outperform.

The Nikkei gained 0.7 percent to 18,797.88, bouncing back further from Friday's four-month low.

Yet, in a sign of fragile market sentiment, it posted so-called "black candlestick", which means the market closed below its opening price, for eight sessions in a row.

That is the longest such streak under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose policy centres on boosting share and other asset prices through aggressive stimulus.

The broader Topix rose 0.7 percent to 1,499.65, led by 1.5 percent gains in banks.

New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley on Friday said there may only be a "little pause" in the central bank's rate hike plans this year. This contrasted with market interpretations of earlier comments that there may be a more significant delay in Fed tightening this year as it looks to shrink its balance sheet. (Reporting by Tokyo Markets Team; Editing by Sam Holmes and Amrutha Gayathri)