July 24th, 2008 | by admin |
TOKYO, July 24 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average wasexpected to rise on Thursday, led by banks such as MizuhoFinancial Group (8411.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) after Wall Street gained on relief overhelp for troubled home financers, with a weaker yen buoyingexporters.
One stock to watch will be Tokio Marine Holdings Inc(8766.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which said on Wednesday it will buy property andcasualty insurer Philadelphia Consolidated Holding Corp (PHLY.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)for about $4.7 billion, in the largest acquisition by a Japanesefinancial firm in the United States. [ID:nT287834]
Financial shares rose on Wall Street after President GeorgeW. Bush dropped a threat to veto a housing rescue bill, clearingthe way for measures aimed at stabilising the battered housingmarket.
"There's certainly some relief now regarding Freddie Mac andFannie Mae, but this is mainly just over the short term," saidYutaka Miura, a senior technical analyst at Shinko Securities.
"A comprehensive solution hasn't yet been found, and thiswill lead to uncertainty over the longer term."
He said this, combined with concerns that Wall Street hasrisen too fast and may perhaps be sold off on Thursday, is likelyto limit gains in Tokyo, with a chance of the benchmark Nikkeieven heading briefly into minus territory.
The Nikkei is expected to move between 13,200 and 13,450. Itclosed at 13,312.93 on Wednesday.
Nikkei futures traded in Chicago 2NKc1 closed at 13,485compared with the Osaka JNIc1 close of 13,360.----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2251 GMT ------------
INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHGS&P 500 .SPX 1282.19 0.41% 5.190USD/JPY <JPY=> 107.92 0.01% 0.01010-YR US TSY YLD <US10YT=RR> 4.1204 -- 0.000SPOT GOLD <XAU=> 920.8 0.11% 1.050US CRUDE CLc1 124.49 0.04% 0.050DOW JONES .DJI 11632.38 0.26% 29.88------------------------------------------------------------- > US STOCKS-Wall St rises on oil drop, housing plan [.N]> Dollar rises on oil drop, housing bill [USD/]> Bonds slip as safety bids fade on stock gains [US/]> Gold sinks over 3 pct on oil tumble, dlr rise [GOL/]> Oil slips further amid worries over U.S. demand [O/R]STOCKS TO WATCH
-- Toshiba Corp (6502.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)
Toshiba is expected to report a consolidated operating lossof about 20 billion yen ($185 million) for the April-June quarterdue to a weak market for flash memory chips, the Nikkei businessdaily reported. [ID:nN23451241]
-- Nippon Steel Corp (5401.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)
Nippon Steel, the world's second-biggest steelmaker, said onThursday it had stopped steel output at its Kamaishi Works innorthern Japan for inspections after a strong earthquake joltedthe area. [ID:nT373018]
-- Idemitsu Kosan Co (5019.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)
Idemitsu Kosan, Japan's third-biggest oil refiner, said onWednesday it may begin revising its domestic wholesale oilproduct prices once a week from around October to help securerefining margins. [ID:nT346105]
-- Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)
Toyota Motor said on Wednesday its global sales for theApril-June quarter rose 1.8 percent to 2,406,583 vehicles, likelykeeping it ahead of General Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) as the world'sbiggest automaker. [ID:nT353309]
-- INPEX Holdings Inc (1605.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)
INPEX said on Wednesday it was not seeking to raise its stakein Iran's huge Azadegan oil field, despite Iran's oil ministersaying the Japanese company had inquired about such a move.[ID:nT354756]
-- Advantest Corp (6857.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)
Japanese manufacturers of equipment used to makesemiconductors reported a 38 percent decline in orders in Junefrom the same month last year amid an industry-wide slump,calculations based on industry data showed on Wednesday.
The book-to-bill ratio was 0.99 in June, meaning that neworders worth 99 yen were received for every 100 yen of productsdelivered, the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan said.The ratio was up from 0.79 in May. [ID:nT294784]
-- SBI Holdings Inc (8473.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)
Credit Suisse Securities (Japan) Ltd and two other foreignbrokerages will buy new shares in an SBI Holdings unit thatoperates a proprietary stock trading system open to retailinvestors, the Nikkei business daily said on Thursday.
-- Toppan Printing Co (7911.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)
Toppan Printing has formed an alliance with U.S. chemicalgiant DuPont (DD.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) to launch in-house production of films usedin solar cell backsheets, the Nikkei business daily reported onThursday.
-- Asahi Glass Co (5201.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)
Asahi Glass will likely report a group operating profit ofaround 100 billion yen for the six months ended June 30, up 11percent from a year earlier and beating its earlier forecast of96 billion yen, the Nikkei business daily said on Thursday.
Demand for glass substrates used to make liquid crystaldisplay (LCD) televisions was strong in South Korea, Taiwan andother Asian markets, the newspaper said. (Reporting by Elaine Lies; Editing by Michael Watson)
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