TOKYO, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average is expected to lose steam on Tuesday after jumping over 5 percent the previous day, with exporters seen pressured by earnings concerns if the yen firms more against the dollar.
Fourth-ranked candymaker Morinaga & Co and Morinaga Milk Industry Co, the nation's No.2 dairy product firm, will be in focus.
The two firms are in talks to merge as early as next autumn, a move that would create a food products company with annual sales of around 760 billion yen ($8.4 billion), the Nikkei business daily said on Tuesday.
"The market will likely hover around yesterday's close after it gained sharply and U.S. stocks ended slightly lower," said Yumi Nishimura, a manager at Daiwa Securities SMBC.
"The yen is a bit stronger and that is causing concern for exporter stocks. If the dollar/yen rate goes below 90 yen, it will further pressure those stocks."
Nikkei futures traded in Chicago closed at 8,770 on Monday, 140 points above their close in Osaka.
Market participants expect the benchmark Nikkei to trade between 8,300 and 8,700 on Tuesday. It gained 5.2 percent the previous day to end at 8,664.66. ----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2305 GMT ------------
LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500 868.57 -1.27% -11.160 USD/JPY 90.64 0.1% 0.090 10-YR US TSY YLD 2.516 -- 0.000 SPOT GOLD 837.9 0.01% 0.100 US CRUDE 44.93 0.94% 0.430 DOW JONES 8564.53 -0.75% -65.15 ------------------------------------------------------------- > Wall St drops on financial worry, Madoff fallout > US dollar tumbles to 2-month lows, Fed awaited > 30Y yield falls to record low on grim economy > Gold ends higher as dollar drop vs euro, Fed eyed > Oil drops 4 pct as economic worries offset OPEC STOCKS TO WATCH
-- Morinaga & Co, Morinaga Milk Industry Co
Morinaga and Morinaga Milk are in talks to merge as early as next autumn, the Nikkei business daily said on Tuesday.
-- Steelmakers and Toyota Motor Corp
The Nikkei business daily said the automaker will seek price cuts of about 30 percent for steel sheet next business year amid weaker demand due to slumping auto sales worldwide.
-- Toshiba Corp
Toshiba will make large-scale cuts in output at its semiconductor plants, including a one-month production stoppage at its Kitakyushu factory in southern Japan and a three-week suspension at another Kyushu site amid weakening demand for semiconductors, the Nikkei business daily said on Tuesday.
-- Aozora Bank
Aozora, the Japanese lender majority owned by U.S. fund Cerberus Capital Management, said it will securitise $3.5 billion worth of loans, its largest such securitisation in at least two years.
-- Mitsui & Co Ltd
Mitsui, Japan's second-biggest trading house, said on Monday it and Russian coal firm United Industrial Corp (OPK) will conduct a feasibility study on developing the Elegest coal mine in East Siberia.
-- Nidec Corp
Nidec, the world's largest manufacturer of motors used in hard drives, said it was scrapping its unsolicited $325 million bid to buy Toyo Denki Seizo KK, a maker of motors used in railway cars.
-- Nippon Steel Corp
Nippon Steel has no plans to change its capital investment programme for this business year as it sticks to its growth strategy of tapping demand in emerging economies, its chairman said on Monday.
-- Suzuki Motor Corp
Suzuki has pulled out of the world rally championship due to the global economic crisis.
The Japanese manufacturer said in a statement on Monday its decision was in response "to the contraction of the automotive sales caused by recent global economic turmoil". ($1=90.63 Yen) (Reporting by Aiko Hayashi; Editing by Michael Watson)