TOKYO, April 18 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei is expected to inch up on Monday helped by gains on Wall Street at the end of last week, while commodity shares are likely to outperform due to higher gold and oil prices.
Analysts said that U.S. corporate earnings such as Intel Corp as well as news related to Japanese manufacturers' earnings starting late this month will likely set the tone in the market this week.
Tokyo stocks have regained around two-thirds of the losses they suffered after the devastating earthquake on March 11. But trade has turned more volatile and thinned out ahead of earnings reports that may pose more questions than give answers, as many firms will likely not give forecasts for this business year.
"We already know that last fiscal year's results were not good. The market is likely to be sensitive on announcements related to this fiscal year," said Yutaka Miura, a senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities.
For Monday, mining stocks and oil shares are expected to outperform the market, as gold rose 1 percent to a record on Friday and oil gained with Brent crude surging past $123 a barrel, as improving U.S. consumer confidence and industrial production eased concerns on climbing fuel costs. [ID:nLDE73E0RN] [ID:nL3E7FF0HH]
Nikkei futures in Chicago <2NKc1> pointed to a slightly
higher open at 9,590, up 30 points from the Osaka close
The benchmark Nikkei average ended down 0.7 percent, or 62.40 points, at 9,591.52 on Friday -- dipping below the settlement of April options prices last week at 9,612.51. The broader Topix shed 0.6 percent to 841.29.
Analysts said the Nikkei may trade between 9,500 and 9,750 on Monday. ----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2307 GMT ------------
INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 1319.68 0.39% 5.160
USD/JPY 83.2 0.04% 0.030
10-YR US TSY YLD 3.4135 -- 0.000
SPOT GOLD 1485.21 0.10% 1.460
US CRUDE
> Wall St rises on economic data but minefields loom > Euro lower but seen resilient next week; USD at risk > US Treasury prices gain, spring rally seen > Gold hits record, silver surges on inflation fear > Oil up on rosier US consumer sentiment, China
STOCKS TO WATCH
--Marubeni Corp
Marubeni is stepping up efforts to boost clothing sales in China at a time when the domestic market has been shrinking, the Nikkei business daily reported.
The Japanese trading house recently formed a partnership with a major Chinese textile company, Shanghai Textile Holding Group. It plans to sell underwear and other products at some 5,800 stores Shanghai Textile owns across China.
--Tokyo Electric Power Co
Tokyo Electric plans to sell shares it holds in KDDI Corp to help pay the cost of compensating those who have suffered losses due to the accident at its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the Nikkei business daily said.
--Mitsui & Co
A large deposit of natural gas has been found in a joint exploration project involving Mitsui & Co off the coast of Mozambique, the Nikkei business daily reported.
--Panasonic Corp
Panasonic has developed dry-cell batteries that are less likely to discharge liquid, with shipments to start as early as this month, the Nikkei business daily reported on Saturday. (Reporting by Ayai Tomisawa; Editing by Joseph Radford) Reuters Terminal users can see other related news and rates by double-clicking on: All Nikkei indices <0#.NIKKEI> All shares listed on Nikkei-225 <0#.N225> N225 index TOPIX index Nikkei Japan 1000 TOPIX sector data Nikkei 300 index TOPIX futures data <0#JTI:> Osaka N225 data <0#JNI:> Chicago N225 data <0#NK:> Top 30 by volume Top 30 by value Total volume Total value 1st section sector RICs All TSE weighted avg Top 30 gainers by pct Top 30 losers by pct Top 30 net gainers Top 30 net losers
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