Nikkei dips as Softbank drops, Fujifilm up

TOKYO, Nov 1 (Reuters) The Nikkei average dipped 0.15 percent on Wednesday as Toyota Tsusho dropped on dilution concerns, but those with solid earnings such as Fujifilm Holdings Corp. advanced, curbing the overall losses.

Softbank Corp. tumbled after it said it was revising the advertising for its new mobile phone price campaign after meeting with Japan's antitrust watchdog.

Shares of Accordia Golf Co., a golf course operator floated by U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc., made a sluggish market debut, ending below the issue's IPO price.

''Corporate earnings are on the rise but hedge funds and other U.S. institutional investors, who are major players in the Japanese stock market, are sidelined ahead of their book-closings in November and December. It looks like some technical factors are moving share prices,'' said Masaaki Higashida, an economist in the investment research and investor services department at Nomura Securities Co. Ltd.

Naoyuki Torii, general manager and strategist at Fukoku Capital Management Inc., echoed Higashida's view and added that selling related to book closing may offer a buying opportunity for some Japanese investors.

''There seems to be a need to sell Japanese stocks,'' he said.

''It's never too late to buy stocks for us after all the earnings numbers are out. By then, there will be some sales'' so that we can buy stocks at cheaper prices,'' he said.

The Nikkei slipped 24.13 points to 16,375.26. The broader TOPIX index was up 0.31 percent to 1,622.51.

Tsuyoshi Nomaguchi, strategist at Daiwa Securities Co. Ltd., said that investors aren't willing to dive into the market before key U.S. economic data such as payroll data due this week.

''Concern about a slowdown in the U.S. economy is growing and that's why investors care about piled-up inventories at Japanese technology companies,'' he said.

Japan's industrial production data showed on Monday that inventories in the information technology sector rose to a record high.

SOFTBANK HIT Shares of Softbank fell 4.9 percent to 2,435 yen as Japan's third-largest mobile phone service operator said the Fair Trade Commission told the company that the ''zero-yen'' claim on its new advertising may be misleading.

Trading firm Toyota Tsusho Corp. lost 6.7 percent to 3,210 yen on dilution concerns as the firm, which is affiliated Toyota Motor Corp., said it would increase its outstanding stock by around 8 percent to fund investment in facilities and operations.

Fujifilm Holdings rose 2.5 percent to 4,450 yen after the company posted a smaller-than-expected decline in first-half profit. Japan Tobacco Inc. too jumped 4.7 percent to 534,000 yen after the sole manufacturer of cigarettes in Japan posted a 7.6 percent rise in operating profit in the first half.

After the market closed, compact car maker Suzuki Motor Corp.

booked a 21 percent jump in quarterly operating profit and lifted its full-year forecasts.

Likewise, Casio Computer Co. Ltd. posted higher half-year profits and raised its full-year forecast.

CONSUMER LENDERS Shares of consumer lenders may draw attention after Takefuji Corp., Japan's second-largest consumer lender, said large-scale tie-ups with other financial institutions are possible.

Takefuji also posted a half-year net loss, a turnaround from a profit of 27.4 billion yen a year earlier.

Prior to these announcements, shares of consumer lending firms fared well as investors bet that all the bad news for the sector had already been factored into their stock prices.

Takefuji surged 6.1 percent and Acom Co. Ltd. rose 4.7 percent.

Accordia Golf opened down 3.6 percent in its market debut, marking a disappointing start for the country's third-biggest IPO this year. The stock closed at 184,000 yen, 5.6 percent lower than its IPO price of 195,000 yen.

Trade volume remained little changed at 1.65 billion shares changing hands, compared with 1.63 billion shares on Tuesday.

That compared with a daily average volume of 1.72 billion shares in September.

Advancers slightly outpaced decliners 879 to 695.

REUTERS CS DS1534