Japan stocks seen falling on U.S. economy worries

TOKYO, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Japanese stocks are seen falling
on Wednesday after losses on Wall Street amid growing concern
about a U.S. recession and a deepening global credit crisis.

The stronger yen is likely to hurt shares of exporters, and
high-tech stocks are expected to suffer after chip giant Intel
Corp (INTC.O) missed Wall Street estimates.

One of the stocks in the spotlight is Mizuho Financial Group
(8411.T). Japan's second-biggest bank said on Tuesday its core
banking unit would buy $1.2 billion worth of the $6.6 billion in
stock being raised by Merrill Lynch MER.N. [ID:nT370724]

"The market is likely to test the downside, with a broad
range of shares being sold," said Kazuhiro Takahashi, general
manager of equity marketing at Daiwa Securities SMBC.

Caution is seen as the dominant mood in the market. Investors
will be looking to see how much the credit crisis is damaging
U.S. banks as they announce fourth-quarter earnings, with JP
Morgan (JPM.N) due to do so later in the day.

In Japan, machinery orders for November are due out before
the opening. Core machinery orders, a highly volatile figure
regarded as a leading gauge of capital spending, are seen having
fallen in November in reaction to a 12.7 percent jump in October.

The Nikkei average .N225 is seen moving between 13,700 and
13,900 on Wednesday.

It ended Tuesday down 1 percent at 13,972.63, the first close
below 14,000 in 26 months.

Nikkei futures traded in Chicago 2NKc1 closed on Tuesday
at 13,795, down 185 points from Osaka JNIc1, a sign that the
market could move lower.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2259 GMT ------------

INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 .SPX 1380.95 -2.49% -35.300
USD/JPY JPY= 106.91 0.13% 0.140
10-YR US TSY YLD US10YT=RR 3.6806 -- 0.000
SPOT GOLD XAU= 894.5 0.00% 0.000
US CRUDE CLc1 91.9 0.00% -2.300
DOW JONES .DJI 12501.11 -2.17% -277.04
-------------------------------------------------------------
>Weak retail sales, Citigroup plague Wall Street [.N]
>Yen leaps to 2-1/2-year high vs dollar [USD/]
>Bonds jump on retail sales slump, Citigroup news [US/]
>Gold ends tad lower as market takes breather [GOL/]
>Oil slides below $92 on U.S. economic concerns [O/R]
STOCKS TO WATCH

-- Electric Power Development Co (J-Power) (9513.T)

The Children's Investment Fund plans to raise its stake in
electricity wholesaler J-Power to 20 percent from 9.9 percent in
a move that would require the approval of the Japanese
government, the Nikkei business daily reported on Wednesday.

The British hedge fund filed a request with the government on
Tuesday, the newspaper said. An overseas company must receive
permission from the government in advance of buying a stake above
10 percent in a Japanese power company.

-- Mizuho Financial Group (8411.T)

Mizuho said on Tuesday its core banking unit would buy $1.2
billion worth of the $6.6 billion in stock being raised by
Merrill Lynch MER.N. [ID:nT370724]

-- SBI Holdings Inc (8473.T), SBI E Trade Securities 8701.Q

SBI Holdings said it would make online broker SBI E Trade
Securities a wholly owned unit in a $1.25 billion stock deal
aimed at getting a better grip on its group assets. [ID:nT332528]

-- Meiji Seika Kaisha Ltd 2202.T

Confectionery maker Meiji Seika said on Tuesday it will
purchase a 22 percent stake in drinks manufacturer Pokka Corp
from domestic funds Advantage Partners and CITIC Japan.
[ID:nT233347]

-- Komatsu Ltd (6301.T), Nippei Toyama Corp 6130.T

Construction machinery maker Komatsu will launch a tender
offer for Nippei Toyama this month to make the machine tool maker
a wholly owned unit, the Nikkei business daily reported on
Wednesday.

Komatsu, which currently owns a nearly 30 percent stake in
Nippei Toyama, will likely spend about 40-50 billion yen
($370-463 million) for the acquisition, the newspaper said.
($1=108.00 Yen)
(Reporting by Taiga Uranaka, Editing by Michael Watson)