TOKYO, April 15 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei stock average is expected to round off the week of thin choppy trade in the same tight range on Friday, although resource and energy shares are likely to bounce back after oil prices gained the day before.
Tokyo stocks will probably open mildly lower after Nikkei
futures in Chicago <2NKc1> last traded at 9,630, down from the
Osaka close
Foreign brokers orders before the open showed net buy orders of 3 million shares.
Resource-related companies such as trading houses like Mitsui & Co and Japan's largest oil and gas developer Inpex Corp may gain, after prices of commodities rose and oil climbed as a weaker dollar offset worries that surging prices would erode demand.
"Volumes have been very low this week and everyone is awaiting earnings results. Lacking big factors that could strongly impact trade, the market will focus on rating upgrades and downgrades of individual companies," said Hiroichi Nishi, general manager at SMBC Nikko Securities.
The Nikkei benchmark closed up 0.1 percent or 12.74 points at 9,653.92, while the broader Topix gained 0.3 percent to 846.72.
Tokyo stocks have regained around two-thirds of ground lost after the March 11 earthquake, but trade has turned more volatile and thin ahead of earnings reports that may pose more questions than give answers as many firms are poised not to give forecasts for the business year.
The most actively traded share since the quake, Tokyo Electric (TEPCO) , is poised to stay in focus on Thursday.
Japan is planning to set up a nuclear insurer to facilitate compensations for the Fukushima Daiichi accident, the Nikkei business daily reported.
The state-backed insurer will recoup the payouts from dividends on capital pumped into TEPCO, the paper said.
U.S. stocks erased early losses and ended largely flat with
defensive companies gaining as data showing a rise in jobless
claims renewed worries about the strength of economic recovery,
while a Senate investigation of Goldman Sachs hurt the
Wall Street giant and some of its peers. [ID:nN13302596]
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2300 GMT ------------
INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 1314.52 0.01% 0.110
USD/JPY 83.57 0.05% 0.040
10-YR US TSY YLD 3.496 -- 0.000
SPOT GOLD 1476.7 0.26% 3.800
US CRUDE
STOCKS TO WATCH
- Aeon Co
Aeon forecast on Thursday a 1.5 percent rise in operating profit this financial year, with demand for basic goods set to limit the impact of a post-quake decline in overall consumer spending for the nation's second-biggest retailer. [ID:nL3E7FE0X4]
- Elpida
Elpida is likely to post 30 percent increase in operating profit to 35 billion yen for the past business year, the Nikkei business daily reported.
- NTT DoCoMo Inc
NTT DoCoMo will increase the supply of Widestar satellite phones for companies that want to strengthen their emergency communication capabilities after the massive earthquake last month, the Nikkei business daily reported. [ID:nL3E7FE37N]
- Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp
BTG Pactual, Brazil's largest independent securities firm, said on Thursday that it would team up with Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp to offer lending and advisory services to exploit growing trade and business opportunities in Latin America.
- Sumitomo Metal Industry
Japan's third-biggest steelmaker, Sumitomo Metal, said on Thursday in would take a 60 billion yen ($715 million) charge for the year that ended on March 31 due to damage resulting from last month's devastating earthquake and tsunami.
- Oriental Land Co
Oriental plans to install three power generators with a combined output capacity of 15,000kw by August, paving the way for it to keep the doors open at Tokyo Disneyland through the summer, the Nikkei business daily said.
(Reporting by Antoni Slodkowski)