Japanese stocks likely to gain, tracking Wall St

TOKYO, May 13 (Reuters) - Japanese stocks are likely to rise
on Tuesday, helped by a softer yen against the dollar <JPY=>,
with technology shares tracking gains by their Wall Street peers.

Financial shares such as Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group
(8306.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) may climb after struggling bond insurer MBIA Inc (MBI.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)
posted a huge loss but beat expectations.

Japanese corporate earnings season is well underway, with
electronics conglomerate Hitachi Ltd (6501.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) among major firms
announcing results later in the day.

"We had been expecting a 10 percent profit decline in
corporate outlooks for this year, but so far, companies have
forecast smaller drops. It is likely to lead to renewed buying
interest in Japanese stocks," said Mitsuo Shimizu, deputy general
manager of the equity department at Cosmo Securities.

Market analysts said the Tokyo market was unlikely to see
much impact from an earthquake that devasted southwestern China,
killing close to 10,000 people. [ID:nL1281973]

They expect the benchmark Nikkei average to move between
13,700 and 13,900 on Tuesday.

Nikkei futures traded in Chicago closed at 13,865 on Monday,
105 points above their close in Osaka.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2250 GMT ------------

INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 .SPX 1403.58 1.1% 15.300
USD/JPY <JPY=> 103.78 -0.05% -0.050
10-YR US TSY YLD <US10YT=RR> 3.7974 -- 0.000
SPOT GOLD <XAU=> 881.3 -0.07% -0.600
US CRUDE CLc1 123.8 -0.35% -0.430
DOW JONES .DJI 12876.31 1.02% 130.43
-------------------------------------------------------------
> Tech rally, oil's fall drive Wall St's gains [.N]
> Dollar up versus yen on risk demand, down vs euro [USD/]
> Prices slip as stock rally damps safe-haven bid [US/]
> Gold ends lower as oil losses weigh, silver up [GOL/]
> Oil falls from record high on China demand worries [O/R]
STOCKS TO WATCH

-- Nikon Corp (7731.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)

Japanese precision equipment maker Nikon said on Monday its
annual profit rose 32.5 percent, thanks to sales of its advanced
cameras and chip-making equipment, but its outlook missed
forecasts.

Operating profit was 135.2 billion yen ($1.3 billion) in the
year ended March 31, up from 102 billion yen a year earlier. That
compares with a mean market estimate of 135.7 billion yen based
on 17 brokerages surveyed by Reuters Estimates. [ID:nT343446]

-- Fujitsu Ltd (6702.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)

The electronics group reported on Monday a 40 percent fall in
quarterly profit, hurt by restructuring of its hard drive and
microchip operations, though it forecast annual profit to more
than double this year. [ID:nT31177]

-- Dentsu Inc (4324.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)

Japan's top advertising company, Dentsu Inc (4324.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), posted
its first annual profit fall in six years and forecast a
smaller-than-expected recovery this year as a sluggish economy
offsets a boost from the Beijing Olympics.

Dentsu also announced that it would spend up to 60 billion
yen ($580 million) to buy back nearly 11 percent of its own
stock, saying its shares looked cheap after losing about
one-fifth of their value so far this year. [ID:nT235656]

-- Sankyo Co Ltd (6417.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)

The maker of "pachinko" gambling machines said on Monday it
expects its operating profit to rise 13.4 percent to 82 billion
yen for the year ending in March 2009, beating a mean forecast of
70.9 billion yen in a poll of 10 analysts by Reuters Estimates.

For the year just ended, the firm said its operating profit
rose 31.7 percent to 72.3 billion yen, thanks to strong sales of
its pachinko and slot machines.

-- Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) on Monday suspended production
at a 13,000-units-a-year joint venture plant in Chengdu,
southwestern China, after a powerful earthquake struck.
[ID:nT244649]

-- Pioneer Corp (6773.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)

The consumer electronics maker plans to slash nearly 5
percent of its workforce, or about 2,000 jobs, in 2008/09 as part
of the restructuring of its struggling plasma television
operations, the Nikkei business daily reported on Tuesday.
[ID:nT218415]

-- Isuzu Motors Ltd (7202.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)

The truck maker said on Monday it expects its operating
profit to fall 4.2 percent to 105 billion yen for the year ending
in March 2009, hit by a slowdown in U.S. economy and a stronger
yen.
(Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Chris Gallagher)