Japan stocks seen lower on techs, foreigners eyed

TOKYO, June 23 (Reuters) Japanese share prices are expected to decline on Friday, with shares in tech firms losing ground after fears of a slowdown in the U.S. economy pushed down similar shares on Wall Street.

Concern about continued selling by foreign investors is also likely to weigh on stock prices, after Tokyo Stock Exchange data on Thursday showed foreigners were net sellers of Japanese equities for the second straight week last week.

''Concerns about slower growth in the U.S. economy weighed on the U.S. Nasdaq. That is likely to impact Japanese shares,'' said Toru Otsuka, a deputy general manager of investment information at Mizuho Investors Securities.

''As we saw in the Tokyo exchange's (data), although the pace of foreigners' selling slowed, they still remain net sellers of Japanese stocks .... Today is likely to be a weak day for the market.'' Foreign investors sold a net 12.95 billion yen (1.5 million) of Japanese stocks on the Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya exchanges last week, marking the second straight week that they sold more than they bought, exchange data showed.

Foreign investors were a major driver behind last year's 40 percent rise in the Nikkei, but market participants now worry that foreigners are pulling away from the Japanese market.

Chicago-traded Nikkei futures also pointed to a decline in share prices. The Nikkei futures contracts expiring in September closed at 15,045, 85 points lower than the Osaka finish.

The Nikkei is seen moving between 14,900 and 15,200 on Friday, traders said.

On Thursday, the benchmark posted its biggest one-day percentage gain since January, rising 3.36 percent to end above 15,000.

U.S. stocks declined with the technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index losing 0.85 percent as investors bet the Federal Reserve will keep raising interest rates even as economic growth shows signs of slowing.

STOCKS TO WATCH --Sanyo Electric Co.

Nokia, the world's largest mobile phone maker, said on Thursday it had ended talks to form a joint venture with Sanyo to produce phones using the CDMA standard.

--Toshiba Corp.

The company said it would launch the next-generation, high-definition optical disc recorder based on the HD DVD format on July 14 in Japan, intensifying competition with rival Blu-ray products.

--Sony Corp. T> The Electronics and entertainment conglomerate is on track to hit its target of doubling its operating profit margin by the next business year, Chief Executive Howard Stringer said on Thursday.

REUTERS VJ BST0553