Nikkei set to fall as fears grow for global economy

TOKYO, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average is expected
to fall on Friday as fears grow about the health of the global
economy, with Canon Inc (7751.T) and other exporters seen down
after the yen hit 13-month highs.

One stock to watch will be Sony Corp (6758.T) after it
launched a voluntary recall of 438,000 Vaio portable computers,
citing a potential hazard that could cause them to overheat in
one of the biggest computer recalls since 2006. [ID:nN04439855]

"Wall Street fell sharply on fears about upcoming U.S. jobs
data and the increasingly gloomy outlook for the world economy,
especially in Europe," said Nagayuki Yamagishi, a strategist at
Mitsubishi UFJ Securities.

"Investors are dumping risky assets and fleeing to quality."

Others said the market could be close to a selling peak and
that the bottom may be near.

The benchmark Nikkei .N225 is expected to move between
12,100 and 12,400, approaching levels unseen since mid-March.

Nikkei futures traded in Chicago closed at 12,235 on Thursday
compared to 12,580 at the Osaka close JNIc1.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2259 GMT ------------

INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 .SPX 1236.83 -2.99% -38.150
USD/JPY JPY= 106.77 0.19% 0.200
10-YR US TSY YLD US10YT=RR 3.6245 -- 0.000
SPOT GOLD XAU= 791.35 -0.40% -3.200
US CRUDE CLc1 107.53 -0.33% -0.360
DOW JONES .DJI 11188.23 -2.99% -344.65
-------------------------------------------------------------
> Global growth, U.S. job fears hammer Wall Street [.N]
> Dollar rallies vs euro, trades at year's high [USD/]
> Bonds rally as jobs worries stoke safety bids [US/]
> Gold slips back below $800/oz on dollar, oil [GOL/]
> Oil falls on soft U.S. fuel demand, shrugs Gustav [O/R]

STOCKS TO WATCH

-- Komatsu Ltd (6301.T), Hitachi Construction Machinery Co
(6305.T)

Shares in Terex Corp (TEX.N), a rival of Komatsu and Hitachi
Construction, fell 20 percent on Thursday after the U.S. maker of
cranes and construction equipment lowered its sales and profit
forecasts for 2008. [ID:nN04431717]

-- Nissan Motor Co (7201.T)

Nissan's European unit kept its 2008 sales target on Thursday
in spite of tough trading and forecast that the overall European
market would fall by around 10 percent in the second half of the
year. [ID:nL4237719]

-- Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T)

Toyota believes new vehicles hitting the market next year
will restore its market share in Europe, the head of Toyota Motor
Europe said on Thursday. [ID:nL4183414]

-- Nitori Co (9843.T)

Furniture and interior goods retailer Nitori is expected to
report that group net profit rose 6 percent to about 8 billion
yen ($75.54 million) in the six months ended Aug. 31 on cuts in
advertising costs and a stronger yen, the Nikkei business daily
said on Friday.

That would mark a record and beat a previous forecast for a
net profit of 7.6 billion yen, the newspaper said.

-- Honda Motor Co (7267.T)

Honda will unveil a prototype of its eagerly awaited low-cost
hybrid car due for launch in early 2009 at the Paris auto show
next month, Japan's No.2 automaker said on Thursday.
[ID:nT159813]

Honda also said on Thursday it was recalling 581,353
minivehicles in Japan to fix a faulty fuel pump that could cause
the engine to stop.

-- Tecmo Ltd 9650.T

Tecmo rejected a takeover bid by Square Enix (9684.T) on
Thursday and said it would instead merge with rival Koei Co
9654.T amid a wave of consolidation in the industry.
[ID:nT155078]
(Reporting by Elaine Lies; Editing by Michael Watson)