Nikkei set to rise after sharp fall, gains limited

TOKYO, Jan 14 (Reuters) - The Nikkei share average is likely
to rise on Wednesday, with exporters rebounding after the
previous day's sharp sell-off, but gains may be limited on
concerns about upcoming earnings results in Japan and the United
States.

Toshiba Corp (6502.T) will likely be in focus after the
Nikkei financial daily said the firm is in the final stages of
talks to buy the hard-disk drive business of Fujitsu Ltd (6702.T)
for 30-40 billion yen ($335-$447 million). [ID:nN13319139]

"We can expect a small rebound, but then investers will want
to stand on the sidelines due to a series of earnings warnings
from U.S. companies and ahead of the earnings season in Japan,"
said Yumi Nishimura, manager at Daiwa Securities SMBC.

"They want to see indications for the next business year,
though this year's dismal earnings had been already factored in."

Nikkei futures traded in Chicago 2NKc1 closed at 8,445 on
Tuesday, 75 points above the Osaka close JNIc1, pointing to a
slightly higher opening.

Market participants expect the benchmark Nikkei .N225 to
trade between 8,300 to 8,600 on Wednesday. It dropped 4.8 percent
the previous day to end at 8,413.91, its lowest close in a month.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2253 GMT ------------

INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 .SPX 871.79 0.18% 1.530
USD/JPY JPY= 89.39 -0.04% -0.040
10-YR US TSY YLD US10YT=RR 2.2974 -- -0.017
SPOT GOLD XAU= 820.7 -0.04% -0.350
US CRUDE CLc1 37.78 0.00% 0.190
DOW JONES .DJI 8448.56 -0.30% -25.41
-------------------------------------------------------------
> Blue chips fall on corporate earnings gloom [.N]
> Dollar at 1-month high vs euro as ECB move looms [USD/]
> Prices up as stock weakness sustains safety bid [US/]
> Gold ends tad up but stronger dollar caps gain [GOL/]
> Oil settles above $37 on Saudi cuts, cold weather [O/R]
STOCKS TO WATCH

-- IHI Corp (7013.T)

IHI, Japanese heavy machinery maker, is expected to report a
group operating profit of less than 20 billion yen ($224 million)
for the year ending in March, falling short of a prior forecast
of 29 billion yen due to a strong yen, the Nikkei business daily
said.

-- Nippon Steel Corp (5401.T)

Japanese steel mills, led by world No.2 Nippon Steel, and
three big miners including Brazil's Vale (VALE5.SA) will open
talks on 2009 term prices for iron ore this week, a source
familiar with the matter said. [ID:nT166048]

-- Mitsubishi Materials Corp (5711.T)

Mitsubishi Materials Corp will cut copper production by 10
percent from February in response to the severe economic
downturn, which has caused demand to slump, the company said in a
statement on Tuesday. [ID:nT135361]

-- Taisho Pharmaceutical Co (4535.T)

Drugmaker Taisho Pharmaceutical said on Tuesday it has won
rights to develop and market GlaxoSmithKline PLC's (GSK.L)
anti-obesity drug orlistat in Japan. [ID:nT148180]

-- Nippon Oil Corp (5001.T)

Japan's top refiner said on Tuesday it will suspend crude
refining at group refiner Nihonkai Oil's Toyama refinery by the
end of January.

The oil firm initially said it would close the 60,000 barrels
per day plant on the west coast of Japan by the end of March, but
it is moving up the date due to a bigger fall in domestic demand
than it had expected, it said in a statement. [ID:nT146307]
(Reporting by Aiko Hayashi; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)