TOKYO, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average is likely to
ease on Monday from a 15-month closing high, after JPMorgan Chase
& Co reported deep fourth-quarter loan losses, raising
concerns about bank profits and sending Wall Street lower.
Toyota Motor Corp may draw attention after the Nikkei business daily reported the automaker plans to roughly double its global production of hybrid vehicles from the 2009 level to 1 million units in 2011.
'There are several signs that the Nikkei is overheated, and the market is likely to take a breather,' said Hiroichi Nishi, general manager of equity marketing at Nikko Cordial Securities.
'JPMorgan's earnings dragged down other U.S. banking shares, and Japanese peers may follow suit, but on the whole, the bank's earnings helped lead to profit-taking as there were concerns that those shares had already gone up too high.
Nikkei futures in Chicago closed at 10,870, down 0.9 percent from the Osaka close, pointing to a lower start.
The benchmark Nikkei is likely to move between 10,750 and 10,900 on Monday, market players said. It rose 0.7 percent on Friday to 10,982.10, its highest finish since October 2008.
The S&P 500 Index fell 1.1 percent on Friday after JPMorgan, the first major bank to report quarterly results, reported deep losses on mortgage and credit card loans in the fourth quarter, damping hopes that consumer credit is on the mend.
The first round of major quarterly U.S. earnings reports has been mixed, leaving investors uncertain about whether stocks can build on strong gains since March 2009. Intel Corp has announced fourth-quarter revenue and a profit margin outlook that handily beat Wall Street's expectations.
> Wall St stumbles on JPMorgan, economic data > Dollar rises broadly, Greece debt woes hurt euro > Bonds climb on tame consumer price data > Gold hit by dollar gains, ETF boosts palladium > Oil slips to $78 as cold spell eases
STOCKS TO WATCH
-- Japan Airlines (JAL)
JAL has agreed on a tie-up with Delta Air Lines that will mean JAL joins the SkyTeam airline alliance, dropping its membership of the Oneworld alliance, a Japanese newspaper said on Saturday.
-- Nippon Oil Corp
Iraq's oil minister said on Sunday a group of companies led by Japan's Nippon Oil was 'stalling' in talks to develop the Nassiriya oilfield and that a deal had to be done by Jan. 24 or Iraq would go it alone.
-- Shinsei Bank
Shinsei Bank and Indian billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala may sell their Indian mutual fund joint venture to Japan's Daiwa for about $10 million, two senior bankers told the Economic Times.
-- Mazda Motor Corp
Mazda and Ford Motor Co will dissolve their joint venture in China by 2012, a move that would further weaken the tie between the two automakers, the Nikkei business daily reported on Sunday.
-- Suzuki Motor Corp
Suzuki also said it would end joint development projects with General Motors for hybrid and fuel-cell technologies as part of an operational review following its alliance with Volkswagen.
(Reporting by Aiko Hayashi; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
((aiko.hayashi@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: aiko.hayashi.reuters.com@reuters.net; +81 3 6441 1802))
((If you have a query or comment on this story send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com))
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 2010. 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.
Toyota Motor Corp may draw attention after the Nikkei business daily reported the automaker plans to roughly double its global production of hybrid vehicles from the 2009 level to 1 million units in 2011.
'There are several signs that the Nikkei is overheated, and the market is likely to take a breather,' said Hiroichi Nishi, general manager of equity marketing at Nikko Cordial Securities.
'JPMorgan's earnings dragged down other U.S. banking shares, and Japanese peers may follow suit, but on the whole, the bank's earnings helped lead to profit-taking as there were concerns that those shares had already gone up too high.
Nikkei futures in Chicago closed at 10,870, down 0.9 percent from the Osaka close, pointing to a lower start.
The benchmark Nikkei is likely to move between 10,750 and 10,900 on Monday, market players said. It rose 0.7 percent on Friday to 10,982.10, its highest finish since October 2008.
The S&P 500 Index fell 1.1 percent on Friday after JPMorgan, the first major bank to report quarterly results, reported deep losses on mortgage and credit card loans in the fourth quarter, damping hopes that consumer credit is on the mend.
The first round of major quarterly U.S. earnings reports has been mixed, leaving investors uncertain about whether stocks can build on strong gains since March 2009. Intel Corp has announced fourth-quarter revenue and a profit margin outlook that handily beat Wall Street's expectations.
> Wall St stumbles on JPMorgan, economic data > Dollar rises broadly, Greece debt woes hurt euro > Bonds climb on tame consumer price data > Gold hit by dollar gains, ETF boosts palladium > Oil slips to $78 as cold spell eases
STOCKS TO WATCH
-- Japan Airlines (JAL)
JAL has agreed on a tie-up with Delta Air Lines that will mean JAL joins the SkyTeam airline alliance, dropping its membership of the Oneworld alliance, a Japanese newspaper said on Saturday.
-- Nippon Oil Corp
Iraq's oil minister said on Sunday a group of companies led by Japan's Nippon Oil was 'stalling' in talks to develop the Nassiriya oilfield and that a deal had to be done by Jan. 24 or Iraq would go it alone.
-- Shinsei Bank
Shinsei Bank and Indian billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala may sell their Indian mutual fund joint venture to Japan's Daiwa for about $10 million, two senior bankers told the Economic Times.
-- Mazda Motor Corp
Mazda and Ford Motor Co will dissolve their joint venture in China by 2012, a move that would further weaken the tie between the two automakers, the Nikkei business daily reported on Sunday.
-- Suzuki Motor Corp
Suzuki also said it would end joint development projects with General Motors for hybrid and fuel-cell technologies as part of an operational review following its alliance with Volkswagen.
(Reporting by Aiko Hayashi; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
((aiko.hayashi@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: aiko.hayashi.reuters.com@reuters.net; +81 3 6441 1802))
((If you have a query or comment on this story send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com))
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 2010. 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.