TOKYO, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average is expected to slip on Wednesday after the dollar fell against the yen on talk of further easing by the Federal Reserve, but modest gains on Wall Street could help to limit losses.
Eyes will also be on the Bank of Japan's quarterly "tankan" survey of business sentiment due out just before the opening, which is seen likely to show confidence at Japanese firms improved for a sixth consecutive quarter.
"The stronger yen is likely to weigh on the Nikkei, but this could be offset if the tankan comes in worse than expected, which could weaken the yen a bit," said Masayoshi Yano, a senior market analyst at Meiwa Securities.
"Another key point today will be whether the Japanese authorities intervene or not."
The Federal Reserve is likely preparing a fresh round of quantitative easing steps to be announced at the end of its Nov. 2-3 meeting, a report by influential hedge fund adviser Medley Global Advisors said on Tuesday, a market source told Reuters.
These expectations grew in the wake of figures showing a decline in U.S. consumer confidence to the lowest level since February, pushing the dollar to below 84 yen, its weakest since Japan intervened in the foreign exchange market two weeks ago.
In early Asian trade the dollar edged up 0.1 percent to 83.91 yen after falling as low as 83.68 yen on electronic trading platform EBS.
Nikkei futures traded in Chicago closed at 9,515, up marginally from 9,490 at the Osaka close.
Market players said the benchmark Nikkei was likely to trade between 9,350 and 9,550 after closing at 9,495.76 on Tuesday. ----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2302 GMT ------------
LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500 1147.7 0.49% 5.540 USD/JPY 83.87 0.04% 0.030 10-YR US TSY YLD 2.4689 -- 0.000 SPOT GOLD 1309.75 0.18% 2.350 US CRUDE 76.26 0.11% 0.080 DOW JONES 10858.14 0.43% 46.10 ------------------------------------------------------------- > Latecomers run to join Wall St's September rally > Dollar slides broadly; talk of further easing weighs > US yield curve flattens on bets of Fed purchase > Gold shoots all-time high as euro hits 5-mo top > Oil slips late on bulging inventories, tepid demand
STOCKS TO WATCH
-- Canon Inc
Canon wants to pursue merger and acquisition opportunities in medical and industrial equipment, CEO Fujio Mitarai said in an interview on Tuesday.
-- Elpida Memory Inc
Elpida plans to start mass-producing DRAMs in December that will be the world's most advanced, a move that could slash production costs by 30 percent, the Nikkei business daily said on Wednesday.
-- Takefuji Corp
Takefuji said it filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday owing $5.1 billion, making it the biggest Japanese consumer lender to fail since a court ruling in 2006 forced the industry to repay borrowers for excessive interest charges.
-- Tokyo Electric Power Co
TEPCO will raise several hundred billion yen (several billion dollars) in new capital, Kyodo news agency reported on Tuesday, without citing sources.
-- Asahi Breweries Ltd
Asahi will pay $520 million to buy a 6.54 percent stake in China's No.1 food processing firm Ting Hsin, as the beermaker looks to expand its food business in China. (Reporting by Elaine Lies; Editing by Michael Watson)