TOKYO, March 26 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average is expected to fall on Thursday, with investors wary as the benchmark stays near 2-1/2-month highs, but a rise on Wall Street on strong economic data may provide support.
Market participants expect an impact from Wednesday being the last day on which investors could buy many Japanese stocks and still receive dividends for the financial year ending on March 31.
This could lop around 50 points from the Nikkei average.
Elpida Memory Inc will be in focus after the PC chip maker said it would raise 46 billion yen ($471 million) by issuing shares in two subsidiaries, aiming to shore up its balance sheet and avoid breaching debt covenants.
"Investors find it hard to actively take positions as the end of the fiscal year approaches, coupled with worries that the market has risen too much in recent trade," said Hiroichi Nishi, general manager at Nikko Cordial Securities.
"The macro environment has been improving and that sent U.S. stocks higher. Downward pressure on the market here will likely be limited."
Nikkei futures traded in Chicago closed at 8,460 on Wednesday, 20 points above the Osaka close.
Market players expect the benchmark Nikkei to move between 8,300 and 8,600 on Thursday. It edged down 0.1 percent the previous day to end at 8,479.99, after rising as high as 8,553.01, its highest since Jan. 13.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 1.2 percent on Wednesday as unexpectedly strong housing and durable goods data fuelled hopes the economy is finally on the mend. ----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2314 GMT ------------
LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500 813.88 0.96% 7.760 USD/JPY 97.55 -0.09% -0.090 10-YR US TSY YLD 2.7989 -- 0.000 SPOT GOLD 933.35 0.02% 0.200 US CRUDE 52.88 0.21% 0.110 DOW JONES 7749.81 1.17% 89.84 ------------------------------------------------------------- > Wall St rallies late as data offsets bond sale gloom > U.S. dollar falls, surprised by Geithner comments > Bond prices tumble on debt supply worries > Gold spikes after Geithner speaks on dollar > Oil falls over $1 as U.S. inventories swell STOCKS TO WATCH
-- Mizuho Financial Group Inc.
Mizuho Corporate Bank, an affiliate of Mizuho Financial Group, has sold about 1 billion yen of its shareholdings in other companies to the Bank of Japan, the Nikkei financial daily said.
-- Fuji Electric Holdings Co, TDK Corp
Fuji Electric and TDK plan to merge their uninterruptible power supply operations in October, forming a venture larger than the UPS operations of current market leader Mitsubishi Electric Corp, the Nikkei said.
-- J.Front Retailing Co
J.Front Retailing's group operating profit likely plunged 39 percent to about 26 billion yen in the year ended Feb. 28, though roughly 1 billion yen above its forecast, partly due to cost-cut efforts, the Nikkei said on Thessaging: aiko.hayashi.reuters.com@reuters.net; +81 3 6441 1802))