TOKYO, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average is expected to rise on Wednesday, with tech shares such as Kyocera Corp climbing after gains by their Wall Street peers, though wariness about the economy will likely lead to profit-taking and cap gains.
Investors are likely to focus on Elpida Memory Inc after a source said the chipmaker was considering applying for funds from the Japanese government under a programme designed to aid nonfinancial companies hurt by the world economic downturn..
U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday as news of an alternative stimulus plan from Senate Republicans suggested lawmakers were moving closer to a package that would soften the blow of a deepening recession.
"Most tech shares are likely to do well today since most of the bad news about earnings and forecast cuts is already out there, with an additional boost from a second day of gains by tech shares in New York," said Yutaka Miura, a senior technical analyst at Shinko Securities. "But any rise by the Nikkei to 8,000 is likely to bring selling."
The benchmark Nikkei is seen likely to move between 7,700 and 8,100. It closed at 7,825.51 on Tuesday.
In an indication the market is likely to rise, Nikkei futures traded in Chicago closed at 7,960, up nearly 200 points from the Osaka close of 7,770. ----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2256 GMT ------------
LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500 838.51 1.58% 13.070 USD/JPY 89.41 0.03% 0.030 10-YR US TSY YLD 2.8858 -- 0.160 SPOT GOLD 899.2 -0.13% -1.200 US CRUDE 40.78 0.00% 0.700 DOW JONES 8078.36 1.78% 141.53 ------------------------------------------------------------- > Wall St rallies on stimulus bets, housing, Merck > Dollar tumbles on better housing data, rising stocks > Prices slump as supply worries weigh > Gold ends below $900 as funds sell; new ETF record > Oil rises as OPEC mulls deeper supply cuts STOCKS TO WATCH
-- Shinsei Bank Ltd
Shinsei reported its second straight quarterly net loss on Tuesday and said it will swing to a net loss of $535 million for the full year, hit by soured investments and a sliding domestic economy.
-- Sharp Corp
Electronics maker Sharp Corp is expected to post an operating loss of more than 10 billion yen ($111.8 million) for the year to March 31, its first loss since it began reporting operating results in 1953, the Nikkei business daily reported.
-- Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd
Eli Lilly and Co and Daiichi Sankyo won unanimous support from a U.S. panel on Tuesday for a new blood thinner that would compete with the world's second-best-selling drug.
The advisory panel urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve prasugrel, a drug considered the most important product in Lilly's pipeline. The FDA usually approves drugs endorsed by advisory panels.
-- Hitachi Ltd
Hitachi, Japan's biggest electronics maker, posted a quarterly loss on struggling chip operations and a slump in demand for electronics products, and reaffirmed a forecast for a $7.8 billion yen annual loss which would be the biggest ever by a Japanese manufacturer.
-- Canon Inc
Canon could incur a loss for the first calendar quarter because of the strength of the yen, managing director Masahiro Osawa told the Nikkei business daily in an interview published on Wednesday. -- Aeon Co, FamilyMart Co
Aeon, Japan's second-largest retailer, and No.3 convenience store FamilyMart will form an alliance to allow Aeon's electronic money system to be used at FamilyMart's stores, the Nikkei business daily reported on Wednesday.
The two firms will discuss expanding the alliance to other areas, such as product development and Internet sales, and involving Ministop Co, a convenience store affiliated with Aeon, the newspaper said.
The alliance may also eventually include convenience store Lawson Inc, the Nikkei said.
-- Denso Corp
Denso, Japan's biggest auto parts maker, forecast its first-ever annual loss on Tuesday as global vehicle production tumbles, and said it would halve spending on facilities next year in a bid to return to profit.
-- Seven & I Holdings, J. Front Retailing
Japan's top retailer Seven & I Holdings is in talks to sell a large department store to rival J. Front Retailing, two people familiar with the matter said, in the latest shakeup of the battered industry.
-- Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO)
TEPCO inched closer to restarting part of the world's biggest nuclear plants after an order to suspend operations was lifted on Tuesday on one of seven generators.
-- Takeda Pharmaceutical
Takeda, Japan's largest drugmaker, said its recurring profit fell by half in the nine months to December compared with a year earlier, hit by higher spending to beef up its drug pipeline ahead of the expiration of key patents. ($1=89.42 Yen) (Reporting by Elaine Lies; Editing by Michael Watson)