By Elaine Lies
TOKYO, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei stock average was
set to rise on Thursday after the Dow Industrials broke above
10,000 for the first time in a year on robust results from
JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) and strong U.S retail sales, with
exporters such as Canon Inc (7751.T) likely to gain.
But rises in the benchmark Nikkei are likely to be limited,
particularly should the yen once again advance against the
dollar. The greenback fell below 89 yen on Wednesday but rose
back to 89.42 yen on Thursday. JPY=
"Financial shares are likely to see some short-covering after
the JPMorgan results came in strong, but fundamentally it's still
too early to see a real recovery in this sector, and this will
help limit the Nikkei's rise," said Kenichi Hirano from Tachibana
Securities.
"The focus for the Nikkei today will be whether it breaks
above the 25-day moving average and closes above it as well."
Resistance has developed around the level of the 25-day
moving average, which currently comes in around 10,140.
Trading house Mitsubishi Corp (8058.T) and Medipal Holdings
(7459.T), a pharmaceutical wholesaler, might attract interest as
they plan to enter the drug wholesale market in China by tying up
with Sinopharm Group (1099.HK), China's largest drug distributor.
[ID:nBNG536458]
Investor optimism, already strong after good results from
Intel Corp (INTC.O) this week, was further bolstered when
JPMorgan Chase & Co's (JPM.N) quarterly profit rose sharply,
boosting hopes other major Wall Street banks will report strong
results this week. [.N]
U.S. retail sales, excluding autos, rose for a second month,
offering cautious optimism that spending would support the
economy as it struggles out of recession. [ID:nN14236340]
The benchmark Nikkei .N225 is likely to move between 10,000
and 10,200, market players said. It closed at 10,060.21 on
Wednesday.
In a sign the market is likely to start higher, Nikkei
futures traded in Chicago 2NKc1 rose 1.2 percent from the Osaka
close of 10,080 JNIc1.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2253 GMT ------------
INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 .SPX 1092.02 1.75% 18.830
USD/JPY JPY= 89.42 0.09% 0.080
10-YR US TSY YLD US10YT=RR 3.4229 -- 0.000
SPOT GOLD XAU= 1062.1 0.02% 0.200
US CRUDE CLc1 75.55 0.49% 0.370
DOW JONES .DJI 10015.86 1.47% 144.80
-------------------------------------------------------------
> Dow passes 10,000 mark on earnings optimism [.N]
> Dollar tumbles to fresh 14-month low vs euro [USD/]
> Bonds sag, Wall Street rally pares safety bid [US/]
> Gold eases after hitting record on dollar, oil [GOL/]
> Oil hits 2009 high on economic optimism [O/R]
STOCKS TO WATCH
-- Omron (6645.T)
Omron revised up its first-half earnings forecast for
April-September to a smaller operating loss of 8 billion yen,
from a previous outlook for a 13 billion yen loss on fixed cost
cuts, even as it kept its sales outlook.
The maker of thermometers and sensors kept its full-year
outlook unchanged.
-- Inpex (1605.T), other oil-related shares
Oil rose above $75 a barrel to settle at a record high for
the year on Wednesday as economic optimism hinted at a recovery
in global energy demand. [O/R]
(Editing by Rodney Joyce)
