Nikkei seen higher but rise limited before CPI

TOKYO, Nov 30 (Reuters) Tokyo stocks are seen likely to move higher on Thursday, with investors snapping up energy stocks on higher oil prices and exporters such as Sony Corp. following gains on Wall Street.

But investors may be wary of pushing the market too high ahead of several key economic indicators on Friday, including jobless data and the core consumer price index (CPI), which could give clues on when the central bank will raise interest rates.

''Although investors will likely return to exporters, especially high-tech stocks, they are expected to hold back somewhat ahead of tomorrow's CPI data. Gains will be limited,'' aid Yosuke Shimizu, head of investment information at Monex.

Nikkei futures pointed to a rise in the market. December futures traded in Chicago closed at 16,185 on Wednesday, up 85 points from their close in Osaka The Nikkei average is likely to move between 16,100 and 16,300 on Thursday, Shimizu said, after closing the previous session up 1.4 percent at 16,076.20.

Investors could shift money into shares in oil companies such as Nippon Oil Corp. after US crude oil for January delivery surged $1.47 to settle at $62.46 a barrel.

Steel stocks are also expected to do well following a report in business daily Nihon Keizai that Baosteel Group Corp. may ask Nippon Steel Corp. to take a stake in the Chinese company, Shimizu added.

In the United States, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.74 percent after a surge in oil prices lifted energy stocks and the government raised its estimate for economic growth in a key market for Japanese goods.

Japan will announce housing starts data for October later in the day. The market expects a 1.1 percent fall from a year earlier, compared with a 4 percent rise in the previous month.

STOCKS TO WATCH -- Nippon Steel Corp T>Baosteel Group Corp. may ask Nippon Steel to take a stake in the Chinese company, Baosteel Chairwoman Qi Hua Xie was quoted as saying by business daily Nihon Keizai on Thursday.

China's leading steel company is considering making requests to Nippon Steel and South Korean Posco to buy its shares if it lists on overseas markets, the paper said.

-- Resona Holdings Inc. T>Resona may spin off subsidiary Kinki Osaka Bank and float its shares on the stock market or sell it directly to another investor. It may also seek investment banking alliances, Chairman Eiji Hosoya told Reuters in an interview.

-- Nidec Corp. OS>The world's top maker of precision motors said on Wednesday it would spend about $126 million to buy Singapore's Brilliant Manufacturing Ltd. to bolster its hard drive motor business.

-- The Bank of Japan Q>Japan's central bank said on Wednesday its operating profit surged 53 percent in the April-September first half thanks to higher returns on its government bond holdings.

-- Advantest Corp. and other chip gear makers.

Orders for Japanese chip-making equipment rose in October year-on-year but the pace of growth slowed from the previous month in a sign that chip makers may be looking to rein in spending, an industry group said on Wednesday.

-- Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. T>Japan's largest drug maker said on Wednesday it planned to buy back up to 4.8 million of its own shares, equivalent to up to 0.54 percent of its outstanding stock, from Nov. 30 to Dec. 22.

-- Sony Corp.

The electronics maker aims to boost global sales of flat screen televisions by about 70 percent in the financial year starting in April, a Sony executive told Kyodo news agency in an interview on Wednesday.

REUTERS SBA BST0549