Nikkei slips from a 3-mth high; shippers outperform

* Nikkei eases 0.2 pct, retreating from a 3-month high
* Japan Tobacco hits 3-week high after raising guidance
* Shippers rise; Baltic Dry Index ends 33-day losing run
* Dainippon Screen sinks on weak orders outlook

By Dominic Lau and Mari Saito
TOKYO, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average
pulled back from a three-month high on Tuesday as a delay in
Greece's response to the painful terms for a new bailout
tempered increasing optimism over the U.S. economic outlook.
"This is mostly profit-taking and not panicked selling on
the Greek default concerns. There is a strong sense of belief
that the Greek bailout will be decided at the last minute," said
Ryota Sakagami, chief strategist of equity research at SMBC
Nikko Securities.
Gains in Japan Tobacco and shippers offered some
support to the Nikkei, which slipped 0.2 percent to
8,913.44 by the midday break after hitting a three-month closing
high on Monday following forecast-beating U.S. jobs data.
Japan Tobacco surged 5.2 percent to a three-week high after
it raised its operating profit forecast to 365 billion yen ($4.8
billion), up 11 percent from its previous estimate, thanks to
stronger cigarette sales in Japan. It also raised its annual
dividend forecast by 12.5 percent to 9,000 yen per share.
Shippers rose sharply, with the sea transport subindex
up 4.1 percent to become the best sectoral gainer,
after the Baltic Dry Index, a barometer of demand for
shipping, snapped a 33-session losing run.
A trader at a foreign brokerage said investors were covering
their short positions as shippers were among the most shorted
stocks.
Kawasaki Kisen, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and
Nippon Yusen climbed between 3.3 and 4 percent, while
Meiji Shipping jumped 25 percent.
The broader Topix was up 0.2 percent at 771.71.
Stefan Worrall, director of equity cash sales at Credit
Suisse in Tokyo, said it was encouraging to see Japanese
equities consolidating at these levels despite worries in the
United States that the January rally in equities was petering
out.
"The market is still not rolling over yet," he said.

REMAIN UPBEAT
The Topix is up 5.9 percent this year, helped by a
brightening outlook for the United States and despite
disappointing corporate earnings so far.
Around two-third of the 114 Nikkei companies that have
reported have failed to meet market expectations, Thomson
Reuters StarMine data showed. That compares with just one-third
of S&P 500 companies.
But others noted further gains are likely to be difficult.
"Corporate results in Japan have been quite bad and although
all the bad news is out now, there's no incentive for investors
to buy further," SMBC Nikko Securities' Sakagami said.
"What we are seeing is primarily buying back of stocks that
were sold off before earnings announcements and market
participants are not actively buying stocks on hopes for the
next quarter."
With the recent gains, the Topix carries a 12-month forward
price-to-earnings ratio of 12, a level not seen since early
August, data from Thomson Reuters Datastream showed.
Also aiding the market on Tuesday was gains in Kansai
Electric Power Co, up 4.6 percent after the Yomiuri
newspaper said the government aims to restart reactors at the
utility's Ohi nuclear power plant around April pending local
authorities' approval.
Dainippon Screen Manufacturing Co, however, sank
6.7 percent, hurt by a weak outlook for orders in the
January-March quarter, analysts said.
Toyota Motor Corp eased 0.4 percent ahead of its
earnings after the market close.
"Everyone knows the (Toyota) results will be hit by the
disasters last year and most of the negative news is already
priced into Toyota shares, but investors are anxious to just see
the numbers because of the impact it will have on all
auto-related stocks," said Yoshihiro Ito, chief strategist at
Okasan Online Securities.