TOKYO, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average is expected to hit a new 8-month high on Thursday after global shares pared losses and the dollar jumped against the yen following surprisingly strong data on U.S. private-sector jobs that added to evidence the U.S. economy is on a recovery path.
The dollar posted its best one-day gain in more than three months against the yen on Wednesday and in early Asia trade was around 83.25 yen.
The ADP Employer Services report showed U.S. private employers added 297,000 jobs in December, the largest increase on record and exceeding market expectations for a gain of 100,000.
The figures come two days ahead of the U.S. government's closely watched and more comprehensive payrolls report for December, prompting economists to raise forecasts for that data.
"After gains on Wall Street the Nikkei will probably open by piercing its current resistance now standing at 10,420, where the December futures and options prices settled," said Hiroichi Nishi, general manager at Nikko Cordial Securities.
Nikkei futures traded in Chicago closed at 10,540, up 1.5 percent from the Osaka close of 10,380.
"Expectations for the U.S. economy to recover are now very high and they're giving a strong boost to global shares," Nishi said, adding that stocks around the world are likely to post strong gains on Thursday on optimism about the U.S. economy.
Analysts said the Nikkei is expected to move in a range of 10,450 to 10,550 on Thursday. On Wednesday it inched down 0.2 percent, with a broad commodities sell-off prompting investors to take profits.
The stronger dollar pressured commodity prices, with copper tumbling from a record high hit on Tuesday and gold down in its biggest three-day slide since mid-November.
In other positive economic data, the Institute for Supply Management said the U.S. services sector grew in December at its fastest pace in more than four years. ----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2244 GMT ------------
LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500 1276.56 0.5% 6.360 USD/JPY 83.23 -0.04% -0.030 10-YR US TSY YLD 3.4634 -- 0.125 SPOT GOLD 1372 -0.41% -5.650 US CRUDE 90.3 1.03% 0.920 DOW JONES 11722.89 0.27% 31.71 ------------------------------------------------------------- > Jobs growth boosts Wall Street, extending rally > Dollar rallies as US data shows strength > U.S. bond prices fall as economic hopes boom > Gold falls on upbeat jobs data but ends off lows > Oil rallies to $90 on strong U.S. jobs data
STOCKS TO WATCH:
-- Panasonic Corp
Panasonic will make available free of charge its technology for Internet-enabled televisions as it looks to create a rival group to the Sony Corp and Google Inc alliance, the Nikkei business daily reported.
-- Toyota Motor Corp
Toyota Motor Credit Corp, a unit of Toyota, sold $1.6 billion of medium term notes in two parts on Wednesday, said IFR, a Thomson Reuters service.
-- Sharp Corp
Sharp plans to start selling its Galapagos tablet computer in the United States in the second half of this year, and is ironing out deals with major media and content providers, the head of the company's U.S. unit said on Wednesday.
-- Sony Corp
LG Display said on Wednesday it has a TV screen supply deal with Sony, a major breakthrough for the South Korean company after Sony switched to Samsung six years ago for flat screen purchases. (Reporting by Antoni Slodkowski; Editing by Michael Watson)