Nikkei set for rise led by financials

TOKYO, July 24 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average was
expected to rise on Thursday, led by banks such as Mizuho
Financial Group (8411.T) after Wall Street gained on relief over
help for troubled home financers, with a weaker yen buoying
exporters.

One stock to watch will be Tokio Marine Holdings Inc
(8766.T), which said on Wednesday it will buy property and
casualty insurer Philadelphia Consolidated Holding Corp PHLY.O
for about $4.7 billion, in the largest acquisition by a Japanese
financial firm in the United States. [ID:nT287834]

Financial shares rose on Wall Street after President George
W. Bush dropped a threat to veto a housing rescue bill, clearing
the way for measures aimed at stabilising the battered housing
market.

"There's certainly some relief now regarding Freddie Mac and
Fannie Mae, but this is mainly just over the short term," said
Yutaka Miura, a senior technical analyst at Shinko Securities.

"A comprehensive solution hasn't yet been found, and this
will lead to uncertainty over the longer term."

He said this, combined with concerns that Wall Street has
risen too fast and may perhaps be sold off on Thursday, is likely
to limit gains in Tokyo, with a chance of the benchmark Nikkei
even heading briefly into minus territory.

The Nikkei is expected to move between 13,200 and 13,450. It
closed at 13,312.93 on Wednesday.

Nikkei futures traded in Chicago 2NKc1 closed at 13,485
compared with the Osaka JNIc1 close of 13,360.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2251 GMT ------------

INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 .SPX 1282.19 0.41% 5.190
USD/JPY JPY= 107.92 0.01% 0.010
10-YR US TSY YLD US10YT=RR 4.1204 -- 0.000
SPOT GOLD XAU= 920.8 0.11% 1.050
US CRUDE CLc1 124.49 0.04% 0.050
DOW 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)

Toshiba is expected to report a consolidated operating loss
of about 20 billion yen ($185 million) for the April-June quarter
due to a weak market for flash memory chips, the Nikkei business
daily reported. [ID:nN23451241]

-- Nippon Steel Corp (5401.T)

Nippon Steel, the world's second-biggest steelmaker, said on
Thursday it had stopped steel output at its Kamaishi Works in
northern Japan for inspections after a strong earthquake jolted
the area. [ID:nT373018]

-- Idemitsu Kosan Co (5019.T)

Idemitsu Kosan, Japan's third-biggest oil refiner, said on
Wednesday it may begin revising its domestic wholesale oil
product prices once a week from around October to help secure
refining margins. [ID:nT346105]

-- Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T)

Toyota Motor said on Wednesday its global sales for the
April-June quarter rose 1.8 percent to 2,406,583 vehicles, likely
keeping it ahead of General Motors Corp (GM.N) as the world's
biggest automaker. [ID:nT353309]

-- INPEX Holdings Inc (1605.T)

INPEX said on Wednesday it was not seeking to raise its stake
in Iran's huge Azadegan oil field, despite Iran's oil minister
saying the Japanese company had inquired about such a move.
[ID:nT354756]

-- Advantest Corp (6857.T)

Japanese manufacturers of equipment used to make
semiconductors reported a 38 percent decline in orders in June
from 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 new
orders worth 99 yen were received for every 100 yen of products
delivered, the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan said.
The ratio was up from 0.79 in May. [ID:nT294784]

-- SBI Holdings Inc (8473.T)

Credit Suisse Securities (Japan) Ltd and two other foreign
brokerages will buy new shares in an SBI Holdings unit that
operates a proprietary stock trading system open to retail
investors, the Nikkei business daily said on Thursday.

-- Toppan Printing Co (7911.T)

Toppan Printing has formed an alliance with U.S. chemical
giant DuPont (DD.N) to launch in-house production of films used
in solar cell backsheets, the Nikkei business daily reported on
Thursday.

-- Asahi Glass Co (5201.T)

Asahi Glass will likely report a group operating profit of
around 100 billion yen for the six months ended June 30, up 11
percent from a year earlier and beating its earlier forecast of
96 billion yen, the Nikkei business daily said on Thursday.

Demand for glass substrates used to make liquid crystal
display (LCD) televisions was strong in South Korea, Taiwan and
other Asian markets, the newspaper said.
(Reporting by Elaine Lies; Editing by Michael Watson)