TOKYO, March 16 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei stock average is
set to rise on Monday after fears about the health of U.S. banks
eased further, helping Wall St to its best week since November,
with banks such as Mizuho Financial Group seen strong.
The Bank of Japan is considering purchasing subordinated debt issued by banks, another move to shore up the financial system by supporting banks' capital ratios, the Nikkei business daily reported on Monday.
The S&P marked its third best week since World War II, helped by comments from Citigroup's Chairman Richard Parsons to Reuters late on Thursday that the bank did not need any more government aid, sending its stock up more than 6 percent .
'Technical factors show the Nikkei is still on a bit of a rising trend, and fears about the U.S. financial system have eased a bit,' said Hiroichi Nishi, general manager at the equity division of Nikko Cordial Securities.
'Until the end of the business year later this month we're likely to be in a situation where selling is limited and it's easy for short-covering to emerge.'
The benchmark Nikkei is likely to move between 7,400 and 7,800, with banks and drug companies expected to make gains in the wake of strong rises by those sectors on Wall Street. The Nikkei closed at 7,569.28 on Friday.
In an indication that stocks will rise, Nikkei futures traded in Chicago closed at 7,700, up from 7,510 at the Osaka close.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2247 GMT ------------
INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500 756.55 0.77% 5.810 USD/JPY 97.97 -0.07% -0.070
10-YR US TSY YLD 2.8957 -
0.000 SPOT GOLD 925.9 -0.14% -1.300 US CRUDE 44.37 -4.06% -1.890 DOW JONES 7223.98 0.75% 53.92
> Drugs, banks lift Wall St; best week since Nov > Dollar edges down vs euro as US stocks rise > Long bonds fall as stocks win-streak lives on > Gold firm on currency fears, rising demand > Oil falls over $2 after OPEC keeps output steady
STOCKS TO WATCH
-- Pioneer Corp
Pioneer Corp in talks with Mitsubishi Electric Corp , Alpine Electronics Inc and Clarion Co Ltd on a possible tie-up in car navigation and other auto equipment operations, the Nikkei business daily reported on Sunday.
-- Hitachi Ltd
Hitachi, Japan's biggest electronics maker, is unlikely to pay a year-end dividend for the year ending this month as it faces a free cash flow short-fall of around 100 billion yen ($1 billion), the Nikkei business daily reported on Saturday.
((Reporting by Elaine Lies, Editing by Edwina Gibbs))
((elaine.lies@thomsonreuters.com; +81 3 6441 1807; Reuters Messaging:elaine.lies.reuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: MARKETS JAPAN STOCKS Reuters Terminal users can see other related news and rates by double-clicking on: All Nikkei indices All shares listed on Nikkei-225 N225 index TOPIX index Nikkei Japan 1000 TOPIX sector data Nikkei 300 index TOPIX futures data Osaka N225 data Chicago N225 data Top 30 by volume Top 30 by value Total volume Total value 1st section sector RICs All TSE weighted avg Top 30 gainers by pct Top 30 losers by pct Top 30 net gainers Top 30 net losers Active Japanese stocks Japan economic indicators ASIA-PACIFIC STOCK MARKETS: Pan-Asia Japan S.Korea S.E. Asia Hong Kong Taiwan Australia/NZ India China OTHER MARKETS: Wall Street Gold Currency Eurostocks Oil JP bonds ADR Report LME metals US bonds Stocks News US Stocks News Europe DIARIES & DATA: IPO diary & data Asia earnings diary U.S. earnings diary European diary Japan diary Wall Street Week Ahead Eurostocks Week Ahead TOP NEWS: For top Asian company news: Top News Japan U.S. company news Europe company news Forex news Global Economy news All Equity news Tech, Media, Telecoms Banking news Politics/General news Asia Macro data A multimedia version of Reuters Top News is available at: http://topnews.session.rservices.com LIVE PRICES & DATA: World stocks Currencies Dow Jones/NASDAQ Debt FTSE 100 LME price overview Yen/dollar (Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit http://topnews.session.rservices.com * BridgeStation: view story .134 * Reuters Plus: from your WebDSS screen For more information on Top News, visit http://topnews.reuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
The Bank of Japan is considering purchasing subordinated debt issued by banks, another move to shore up the financial system by supporting banks' capital ratios, the Nikkei business daily reported on Monday.
The S&P marked its third best week since World War II, helped by comments from Citigroup's Chairman Richard Parsons to Reuters late on Thursday that the bank did not need any more government aid, sending its stock up more than 6 percent .
'Technical factors show the Nikkei is still on a bit of a rising trend, and fears about the U.S. financial system have eased a bit,' said Hiroichi Nishi, general manager at the equity division of Nikko Cordial Securities.
'Until the end of the business year later this month we're likely to be in a situation where selling is limited and it's easy for short-covering to emerge.'
The benchmark Nikkei is likely to move between 7,400 and 7,800, with banks and drug companies expected to make gains in the wake of strong rises by those sectors on Wall Street. The Nikkei closed at 7,569.28 on Friday.
In an indication that stocks will rise, Nikkei futures traded in Chicago closed at 7,700, up from 7,510 at the Osaka close.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2247 GMT ------------
INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500 756.55 0.77% 5.810 USD/JPY 97.97 -0.07% -0.070
10-YR US TSY YLD 2.8957 -
0.000 SPOT GOLD 925.9 -0.14% -1.300 US CRUDE 44.37 -4.06% -1.890 DOW JONES 7223.98 0.75% 53.92
> Drugs, banks lift Wall St; best week since Nov > Dollar edges down vs euro as US stocks rise > Long bonds fall as stocks win-streak lives on > Gold firm on currency fears, rising demand > Oil falls over $2 after OPEC keeps output steady
STOCKS TO WATCH
-- Pioneer Corp
Pioneer Corp in talks with Mitsubishi Electric Corp , Alpine Electronics Inc and Clarion Co Ltd on a possible tie-up in car navigation and other auto equipment operations, the Nikkei business daily reported on Sunday.
-- Hitachi Ltd
Hitachi, Japan's biggest electronics maker, is unlikely to pay a year-end dividend for the year ending this month as it faces a free cash flow short-fall of around 100 billion yen ($1 billion), the Nikkei business daily reported on Saturday.
((Reporting by Elaine Lies, Editing by Edwina Gibbs))
((elaine.lies@thomsonreuters.com; +81 3 6441 1807; Reuters Messaging:elaine.lies.reuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: MARKETS JAPAN STOCKS Reuters Terminal users can see other related news and rates by double-clicking on: All Nikkei indices All shares listed on Nikkei-225 N225 index TOPIX index Nikkei Japan 1000 TOPIX sector data Nikkei 300 index TOPIX futures data Osaka N225 data Chicago N225 data Top 30 by volume Top 30 by value Total volume Total value 1st section sector RICs All TSE weighted avg Top 30 gainers by pct Top 30 losers by pct Top 30 net gainers Top 30 net losers Active Japanese stocks Japan economic indicators ASIA-PACIFIC STOCK MARKETS: Pan-Asia Japan S.Korea S.E. Asia Hong Kong Taiwan Australia/NZ India China OTHER MARKETS: Wall Street Gold Currency Eurostocks Oil JP bonds ADR Report LME metals US bonds Stocks News US Stocks News Europe DIARIES & DATA: IPO diary & data Asia earnings diary U.S. earnings diary European diary Japan diary Wall Street Week Ahead Eurostocks Week Ahead TOP NEWS: For top Asian company news: Top News Japan U.S. company news Europe company news Forex news Global Economy news All Equity news Tech, Media, Telecoms Banking news Politics/General news Asia Macro data A multimedia version of Reuters Top News is available at: http://topnews.session.rservices.com LIVE PRICES & DATA: World stocks Currencies Dow Jones/NASDAQ Debt FTSE 100 LME price overview Yen/dollar (Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit http://topnews.session.rservices.com * BridgeStation: view story .134 * Reuters Plus: from your WebDSS screen For more information on Top News, visit http://topnews.reuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
© 2009 AFX News
