Japanese stocks likely to fall after Wall St losses
TOKYO, June 23 (Reuters) - Japanese stocks are likely to fall on Monday, led down by blue chip exporters and financials after sharp losses on Wall Street on rising oil prices and warnings of more mortgage-related write-downs at banks.
Japan's export-oriented corporate earnings are heavily dependent on the health of the U.S. economy. "The Tokyo market is likely to fall for the third day, following the drop in U.S. stocks," said Mitsuo Shimizu, deputy general manager of equity department at Cosmo Securities.
"If the Nikkei goes below the recent low of June 13 (at 13,810.38), it will be negative in terms of technicals."
The Dow industrial average .DJI on Friday closed at its second-lowest level this year and below 12,000 for the first time since March 17.
Nikkei futures finished at 13,765 in Chicago 2NKc1, 195 points below their Osaka close JNIc1.
Market participants said they expect the benchmark Nikkei .N225 to move between 13,700 and 14,100 on Monday. ----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2253 GMT ------------
INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500 .SPX 1317.93 -1.85% -24.900 USD/JPY <JPY=> 107.44 0.21% 0.220 10-YR US TSY YLD <US10YT=RR> 4.168 -- 0.000 SPOT GOLD <XAU=> 903.7 0.32% 2.850 US CRUDE CLc1 134.89 -0.35% -0.460 DOW JONES .DJI 11842.69 -1.83% -220.40 ------------------------------------------------------------- > Dow closes below 12,000 on bank jitters, oil prices [.N] > Dollar falls on credit jitters, Fed rate worries [USD/] > Bonds up as stocks drop on banks, autos weakness [US/] > Gold ends tad lower, focuses Saudi oil meeting [GOL/] > Oil jumps on rising Iran-Israel tensions, Nigeria [O/R] STOCKS TO WATCH -- Taisei Corp (1801.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)
Construction firm Taisei has agreed with U.S.'s Bechtel to expand their partnership to include overseas engineering works especially in the Middle East and other emerging markets, the Nikkei business daily reported on Monday.
The paper said Taisei aims to tap growing demand in emerging countries in North Africa, Eastern Europe and elsewhere for infrastructure projects in such areas as transportation, urban development, airports and sea ports.
-- Sharp Corp (6753.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Kyocera Corp (6971.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Sanyo Electric Co (6764.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), other solar power equipment makers
The Japanese government will come up with measures on Tuesday to promote household use of solar power generation systems by introducing subsidies and tax breaks from next year, the Nikkei financial daily reported on Sunday.
The paper said the steps, which follow an environment initiative announced earlier by Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, include halving the cost to purchase power generation facilities in Japan. [ID:nT205858]
-- Mitsui & Co (8031.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)
Trading house Mitsui said on Friday it has agreed with Brazil's state-owned oil company Petrobras (PETR4.SA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (PER.BA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) to start a $750 million deepwater drilling project for oil exploration.
Their 50-50 venture, P&M Drilling International B.V., will own the ultra-deepwater drillship, and the cost of the project will be partly financed by syndicated lenders.
-- Nippon Oil Corp (5001.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), INPEX Holdings (1605.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)
Teikoku Oil and Nippon Oil are considering taking part in exploration projects in the East China Sea after an agreement between China and Japan on how to develop oil and gas in the disputed waters, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Saturday. [ID:nT217575]
Teikoku Oil is a part of INPEX Holdings.
-- NEC Electronics Corp (6723.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Elpida Memory Inc (6665.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)
NEC Electronics and Elpida announced a deal on Friday for NEC Electronics to use Elpida's production lines to make chips that control flat-panel displays, marking Elpida's first major order as a contract chip maker.
Elpida, the world's No.3 maker of computer memory chips, plans to take about a 20 percent stake in a new NEC Electronics venture to make and sell the chips, used in PCs and flat TVs. NEC Electronics would hold the remaining 80 percent. [ID:nT189896]
-- Nissan Motor (7201.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)
Nissan is planning to shut down its light truck plant at Avila in Spain for up to 51 days over the next two years in response to weak European sales, newspaper El Pais reported on Saturday. [ID:nL21278955]
-- Takeda Pharmaceutical Co (4502.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)
Takeda, Japan's largest drugmaker, won U.S. approval to promote its cancer drug Velcade for earlier treatment of multiple myeloma, the company said on Friday. [ID:nN20175674]
-- Kubota Corp (6326.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)
The farm equipment firm said on Friday it would buy back up to 10 billion yen of its own shares, or 0.8 percent of those outstanding, from June 23 to Sept 24.
-- Tasaki Shinju Co Ltd (7968.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)
Pearl product maker Tasaki Shinju said on Friday it would not pay a dividend for the year ending in October, scrapping its earlier forecast of 4 yen per share.
The firm also cut its operating forecast by 37.5 percent to 1 billion yen for the year ending in October, hit by a slowdown in consumer spending.
-- Daikyo Inc (8840.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), other apartment developers
Daikyo and Dia Kensetsu Co (8858.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) will cut the prices of unsold apartments by as much as 10 percent to clear swelling inventories caused by weak demand, the Nikkei business daily reported on Sunday. (Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
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