Japanese stocks likely to rebound after U.S. data

TOKYO, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Japanese stocks are likely to
rebound on Thursday, as strong data on U.S. durable goods orders
are expected to help ease concern about the flagging U.S.
economy.

Bank shares are expected to rise after a rally in troubled
U.S. home financing giants Fannie Mae FNM.N and Freddie Mac
FRE.N on receding speculation about a possible government
bailout.

"The market is likely to be firm today. We are likely to have
some sunshine after days of rain," said Yoku Ihara, manager of
the investment information department at Retela Crea Securities.

New orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods jumped a
surprising 1.3 percent in July as business ramped up spending
plans and demand for a wide array of items rose, a government
report showed on Wednesday. [ID:nN27443202]

Nikkei futures traded in Chicago 2NKc1 closed at 12,900 on
Wednesday, 120 points above their close in Osaka JNIc1,
pointing to a higher opening.

The benchmark Nikkei .N225 is likely to trade between
12,700 and 13,000, market participants said.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2301 GMT ------------

INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 .SPX 1281.66 0.8% 10.150
USD/JPY JPY= 109.54 -0% 0.000
10-YR US TSY YLD US10YT=RR 3.7667 -- 0.000
SPOT GOLD XAU= 827.35 0.18% 1.450
US CRUDE CLc1 118.3 0.13% 0.150
DOW JONES .DJI 11502.51 0.79% 89.64
-------------------------------------------------------------
> Strong U.S. data, financials drive stocks higher [.N]
> U.S. dollar slides as ECB revives rate hike talk [USD/]
> Prices rebound after early hit from durables [US/]
> Gold ends up on oil gains as dollar drops vs euro [GOL/]
> Oil rises as Gustav threatens U.S. Gulf [O/R]
STOCKS TO WATCH

-- Ricoh Co Ltd (7752.T), Canon Inc (7751.T)

Ricoh said on Wednesday it would acquire U.S. office
equipment distributor Ikon Office Solutions IKN.N for $1.62
billion, in what could be a blow to rival Canon Inc in the key
U.S. market. [ID:nT32166]

-- Acom Co (8572.T), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306.T)

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial plans to raise its stake in consumer
lender Acom to about 40 percent from 15 percent through a tender
offer, the Mainichi newspaper reported on Thursday. [ID:nT34100]

-- Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T)

Toyota's Kyushu unit lowered its production target to 370,000
units for this business year, down 16 percent from a year
earlier, after Toyota cut its global sales forecast due to
sluggish sales in the United States and Europe, the Nikkei said.

-- Kaken Pharmaceutical Co Ltd (4521.T)

Kaken Pharmaceutical said on Wednesday it would buy back up
to 3 billion yen worth of its own shares, or up to 3 percent of
those outstanding, between Sept 1 and March 31, 2009.

-- Osaka Titanium Technologies Co (5726.T)

The titanium maker said on Wednesday it would spend 45
billion yen on a new silicon plant that would almost triple its
silicon output to 3,600 tonnes per year.

Osaka Titanium, a supplier to silicon wafer maker Sumco Corp
(3436.T), decided to build a new factory with annual capacity of
2,200 tonnes after it received a long-term contract from Sumco
for silicon, to be used in semiconductors, from April 2011.

-- Mixi Inc (2121.T)

Mixi, Japan's dominant social networking site, is seeking
partners to help widen its appeal as it eyes an expansion drive
in North America and Europe, its chief executive said on
Wednesday. [ID:nT285917]
(Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)