Nikkei ends flat as Canon falls, Sony rises

TOKYO, Oct 6 (Reuters) The Nikkei finished nearly flat on Friday as shares of Canon Inc. and some other blue chips were sold after pushing the market to its highest close in nearly five months a day earlier, offsetting an advance by Sony Corp.

Shares of Sony rose for the first time in seven sessions, after losing nearly 9 percent.

Trade was relatively slow due to the coming long weekend.

Japanese markets are closed on Monday for a public holiday.

''Profit-taking has kept the market from advancing today,'' said Soichiro Monji, chief strategist of equity management at Daiwa SB Investments.

''At the moment, there aren't any reasons for investors to buy aggressively, and I think the three-day weekend is also a factor.'' The Nikkei ended down 13.27 points, or 0.08 percent, at 16,436.06. On Thursday it rose more than 2 percent to close at its highest since May 12. For the week, the index rose 1.91 percent.

The TOPIX index finished up 1.01 points at 1,634.21.

Office equipment giant Canon fell 1.2 percent to 6,470 yen, after having gained more than 5 percent over the previous five sessions.

On Thursday, its shares hit a lifetime high of 6,590 yen on a share-split adjusted basis, up more than 40 percent from the start of 2006.

Sony rose 1.1 percent to 4,490 yen. It had fallen a total of 8.6 percent in the previous six sessions as investors worried about the impact of a massive battery recall and the outlook for its upcoming game console.

Steel maker Nippon Steel Corp. rose 1.2 percent to 495 yen after Tata, India's largest private steelmaker, said on Thursday it was considering a takeover bid for Corus Group Plc KABU.COM JUMPS Online brokerage kabu.com Securities Co. Ltd. gained 5.8 percent to 220,000 yen.

The company said on Friday that Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Co.

Ltd., BNP Paribas and the brokerage arm of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. had agreed to talks about participating in its proprietary after-hours trading service.

Shares of other brokerages also advanced, as investors bet recent advances in the stock market would translate into higher profits.

Industry leader Nomura Holdings Inc. jumped 3.3 percent to 2,210 yen. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. advanced 3.5 percent to 1,429 yen.

With the Nikkei up some 5 percent in two weeks, investors may decide to take some profits next week, said Yoku Ihara, manager of investment information at Retela Crea Securities.

''We're likely to see a quiet week of trading'' Ihara said.

''Some of these stocks ... have advanced a lot, so investors are likely looking to cash in some winnings.'' The Nikkei is likely to move between 16,200 and 16,600 next week, he added.

Shares of Nippon Shokubai Co. Ltd. fell 11.9 percent to 1,225 yen, making the manufacturer of chemical catalysts the worst performer on the exchange's first section. PL.T> The Nihon Keizai business daily on Friday said Nippon Shokubai's full-year recurring profit is likely to fall 16 percent to 22 billion yen (5 million), some 4 billion yen below the company's target, due to poor chemicals business and higher material costs.

Trade was slow, with 1.54 billion shares changing hands on the Tokyo exchange's first section, the second-lowest total this week.

Decliners outnumbered gainers 1,248 to 364.

REUTERS SRS RN1557