TOKYO, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei is likely to rise on Thursday from a two-week closing low hit the day before, with resource-linked shares higher after commodities rallied as the dollar slid amid speculation of a half-trillion dollar stimulus from the Federal Reserve.
Nikkei futures traded in Chicago closed at 9,490, up 1.2 percent from the Osaka close. The benchmark Nikkei average fell 1.7 percent on Wednesday as investors rushed to take profits after China unexpectedly tightened credit.
Market analysts expect Japanese stocks to rise, but the strength in the yen, which touched a fresh 15-year high versus the dollar at 80.84 yen the previous session, will pressure exporter shares, keeping overall market gains in check.
"With U.S. stocks up on expectations for further easing, worries ignited after the news of China's rate hike that risk-taking that had been expanding until then would fade are receding. As a sign, assets like commodities were higher," said Kazuhiro Takahashi, general manager at Daiwa Securities Capital Markets.
"But as the risk of the strong yen remains, investors are likely to take a wait-and-see approach after the market's initial gains. We have Chinese economic data releases later and the reaction in Chinese stocks and commodity prices will be another focus."
The benchmark Nikkei is likely to move between 9,350 and 9,500, market players said.
On Wednesday, the index ended at 9,381.60, its lowest close since Oct. 4, as resource-related shares in particular took a hit as investors reined in risk appetite for commodities after China raised interest rates by 25 basis points, its first hike in nearly three years.
On the technical front, support is seen solid at the Nikkei's 13-week moving average, now at 9,379, which has served as firm support since late September, and then the upper level of its daily Ichimoku cloud around 9,300.
U.S. stocks rose about 1 percent as a fall in the dollar spurred buying in industrial and commodity-linked shares, while another batch of strong corporate earnings such as those of Boeing Co added to gains.
Investors unloaded the dollar as a report from Medley Global Advisors said the Fed planned to buy $500 billion of Treasury debt over six months to invigorate a flagging U.S. economy.
Key basic resources including base metals, oil and gold all turned higher, rebounding from steep losses in the previous session when China announced an interest-rate hike.
China releases Real Q3 GDP, industrial production, consumer price inflation, retail sales and asset investment numbers at 0200 GMT.
STOCKS TO WATCH
-- NTT Data Corp
IT services company NTT Data Corp agreed to buy Boston-based Keane Inc for more than 100 billion yen ($1.23 billion) to access blue-chip clients in the United States, the Nikkei business daily reported.
-- Nichi-iko Pharmaceutical Co
Nichi-iko Pharmaceutical will buy a 33.4 percent stake in South Korea's Aprogen Inc, a start-up specialising in generic antibody drugs, with an eye on selling such treatments in Japan, the Nikkei business daily reported.
-- Fujitsu Ltd
Fujitsu is poised to report a roughly 40 billion yen group operating profit for the April-September period, beating a 35 billion yen previous estimate, on the strength of its information technology service business, the Nikkei business daily reported.
-- Eisai Co
Eisai is expected to report a 26 percent year-on-year increase in operating profit to about 62 billion yen for the April-September fiscal half, buoyed by brisk drug sales, the Nikkei business daily reported. (Reporting by Aiko Hayashi; Editing by Joseph Radford)