TOKYO, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei is likely to fall on Tuesday, eyeing a break below 9,000 for the first time in 15 months after U.S. stocks weakened as a slew of corporate takeover activity failed to soothe concerns the recovery is stalling.
Nikkei futures traded in Chicago closed at 9,045, down 0.6 percent from the Osaka close.
The 9,000 to 9,100 area for the benchmark Nikkei has been strong support since last year and several attempts this month to break through on the downside to a fresh 13-month low have been checked just under 9,100.
"Today's trade will be about a battle over the 9,000 level. If the Nikkei goes below that, it will completely turn into a sell market, though the speed and degree of the drop will depend on moves in currency rates," said Kenichi Hirano, operating officer at Tachibana Securities.
"There have been no policy steps by the Japanese government to hit the country's stocks. While countries around the world are letting their home currencies weaken to protect their economies, Japan isn't doing anything about its currency."
The benchmark Nikkei is likely to move between 8,900 and 9,150, market players said.
It fell 0.7 percent the previous day to 9,116.69, its lowest close since Nov. 27, 2009, dented by selling from what some market players said were hedge funds and foreigners as worry lingered about the pace of economic recovery and the impact of the strong yen.
The Nikkei was also hurt by disappointment that Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa only spoke over the phone instead of holding a long-expected meeting, and the two simply talked about currencies and the economy and agreed to work closely.
If the Nikkei goes below 9,000, that would take the index to its lowest since May last year. The next support stands at 8,697, a 61.8 percent retracement of the rally between its March 2009 low and April 2010 high.
In early Asian trade, the dollar was steady at 85.17 yen on electric trading platform EBS, within sight of a 15-year low of 84.72 yen this month.
U.S. stocks inched down, pressured by technology shares as a possible bidding war over data storage company 3PAR between Hewlett-Packard Co and Dell Inc sent shares of HP 2 percent lower.
The bid comes on the heels of other deals last week, including acquisition offers from Intel Corp and BHP Billiton.
Analysts said the recent spate of M&A also points to companies continuing to make profits through cost cutting rather than through revenue growth and highlights the economy's weakness.
STOCKS TO WATCH
-- Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd
Kawasaki Heavy plans to invest 5-7 billion yen ($58.8 million-$82.2 million) to set up a domestic factory for engine parts used in Airbus SAS' A350 XWB next-generation passenger jet, the Nikkei business daily reported.
-- Sony Corp
Taiwan's Chimei Innolux Corp sued Sony for infringing on patents used in PlayStation 3 video game consoles, televisions, computer notebooks and cameras.
Sony engaged in "widespread infringement" of three patents dating back to 1998 Chimei said in its lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court in Delaware on Monday.
-- Rakuten Inc
Rakuten, Japan's biggest online retailer, will be established in every major overseas market including the United Kingdom, Germany and Spain by the end of 2011, as it ramps up overseas expansion, its founder Hiroshi Mikitani told Reuters on Monday. (Reporting by Aiko Hayashi; Editing by Joseph Radford)