TOKYO, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei is likely to rise on Wednesday, helped by a halt in the yen's advance against the dollar, with eyes on corporate results as Canon Inc kicks off the tech sector's earnings season later in the day.
Short-covering in exporters will likely support the benchmark Nikkei, analysts said, after the index inched down for two straight days. Stocks have been hurt by the yen, which firmed to a fresh 15-year peak of 80.41 against the dollar on Monday, approaching a record high of 79.75 yen.
Nikkei futures traded in Chicago closed at 9,455, up 1 percent from the Osaka close. In early Asia trade, the yen changed hands at 81.38 to the dollar.
"The market will likely continue to lack a clear direction, but it will draw support from the slight weakening in the yen and prospects for solid corporate earnings," said Kazuhiro Takahashi, general manager at Daiwa Securities Capital Markets.
"Still, external factors such as the outlook for the economy remain uncertain, and that will likely keep gains in check."
The Nikkei average is likely to move between 9,400 and 9,500, Takahashi said. On Tuesday, it fell 0.3 percent to 9,377.38 as the yen hovered near a record high against the dollar, adding to investor caution before the peak of the corporate earnings season.
The Nikkei's support likely stands at last week's intraday lows around 9,310-9,320, with the upper level of its daily Ichimoku cloud near 9,300 also seen as key technical support.
Some technical resistance is seen at the 25-day average, now at 9,498.
Japan's electronics firms are expected to show a patchy recovery for July-September from last year's weak results, but even strong performers will likely leave their full-year forecasts unchanged as concerns mount over the strong yen and disappointing demand for TVs.
Canon, which is set to report results after the market close, is expected to show a nearly 50 percent jump in operating profit year-on-year to 89.5 billion yen, on healthy camera sales and cost-cutting. For a PREVIEW of electronics firms' earnings, see
STOCKS TO WATCH
-- Aeon Co Ltd
Aeon, Japan's second-largest retailer, said it aims to nearly double its operating profit in three years by expanding in Asia, as it looks to nurture growth beyond its stagnant domestic market.
The company in a business plan released on Tuesday predicted its operating profit would increase to 250 billion yen ($3.1 billion) in the year to February 2014, from 130 billion yen in its 2009/10 financial year.
-- Hitachi Construction
Hitachi Construction reported a jump in operating profit for the April-September period to 12.3 billion yen ($151 million) from 945 million yen a year earlier, citing robust demand in China and other Asian and Oceanian countries.
-- Mitsubishi Corp
Mitsubishi Corp's net profit likely jumped 89 percent on the year to around 260 billion yen in the April-September first half, thanks to strength in energy and mineral operations, the Nikkei business daily reported. (Reporting by Aiko Hayashi; Editing by Chris Gallagher)