Nikkei to rise after Wall St gains, eyes on data

TOKYO, May 19 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei stock average is set
to rise on Tuesday after Wall Street climbed on hopes the
recession is easing, with exporters such as Canon Inc (7751.T)
likely to rise on a weaker yen.

But gains may be limited before an array of economic
indicators, including U.S. April housing starts later on Tuesday
and Japanese first-quarter gross domestic product data on
Wednesday.

"The Nikkei gained something like 34 percent from March 10 to
May 11, so a bit of a correction was only natural given the fact
that the fundamental economy still isn't that strong," said
Hiroichi Nishi, general manager at the equity division of Nikko
Cordial Securities.

"Now the market will look upward while closely watching
economic indicators."

Strong results from U.S. home improvement retailer Lowe's
(LOW.N) sent its shares surging and sparked broad buying of
sectors aligned with economic growth such as banks, energy
companies and retailers. [.N]

Japanese exporters are likely to do especially well after the
dollar climbed against the yen on Monday on reviving risk
appetite and comments from a Japanese official sparking
speculation authorities in Japan might intervene to slow the
yen's rise. [FRX/]

The dollar had edged up 0.1 percent in early trade to 96.36
yen after falling below 95 yen on Monday. JPY=

The benchmark Nikkei .N225 is likely to move between 9,100
and 9,350. It fell 2.4 percent to 9,038.69 on Monday.

In a sign the market is set to climb, Nikkei futures traded
in Chicago 2NKc1 rose 3.2 percent from the Osaka close JNIc1.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2247 GMT ------------

INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 .SPX 909.71 3.04% 26.830
USD/JPY JPY= 96.34 0.11% 0.110
10-YR US TSY YLD US10YT=RR 3.2337 -- 0.000
SPOT GOLD XAU= 917.15 -0.01% -0.050
US CRUDE CLc1 59.18 0.25% 0.120
DOW JONES .DJI 8504.08 2.85% 235.44
-------------------------------------------------------------
> Wall St gains as Lowe's lifts mood on economy [.N]
> Dollar up vs yen on stocks, Japan official's comments [USD/]
> Prices fall as economy hopes raise risk appetite [US/]
> Gold slips as Wall St rallies; platinum in focus [GOL/]
> Oil up 4.8 percent on Nigeria, US refinery fire [O/R]
STOCKS TO WATCH

-- Lawson Inc (2651.T)

Lawson, Japan's second-largest convenience store chain, has
scrapped its plan to buy am/pm Japan Co, saying it could not
accept a demand of retaining the smaller rival's name on some
stores, the Nikkei business daily said. [ID:nBNG466820]

-- Softbank Corp (9984.T)

Softbank, Japan's No. 3 wireless carrier, is expected to
issue two-year bonds worth 50 billion yen targeting individual
investors as early as next month, an effort to roll over debt,
the Nikkei business daily reported. [ID:nBNG502230]

-- DeNA Co (2432.T)

DeNA, Japan's No. 2 social networking service operator, aims
to return to double-digit profit growth next financial year as it
improves its offering of games and other contents. [ID:nT183883]

-- All Nippon Airways Co (9202.T)

All Nippon Airway Co's earnings outlook is unlikely to be
affected for now by the outbreak of H1N1 flu, the president of
Japan's second-biggest airline said on Monday. [ID:nT182662]

-- Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd (4502.T)

Takeda, Japan's largest drugmaker, said it would buy
U.S.-based IDM Pharma (IDMI.O) for $75 million, aiming to bolster
its presence in the cancer drug market. [ID:nT185483]

-- Tokyo Electric Power Co (9501.T)

TEPCO said on Monday it expects to resume power generation at
its quake-hit Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant on Tuesday, four
days later than planned due to technical problems. [ID:nT181403]
(Reporting by Elaine Lies; Editing by Chris Gallagher)