Nikkei seen moving little ahead of key data

Tokyo, Dec 7: Tokyo stocks are seen moving little on Thursday as investors take a cautious stance ahead of key economic data on Friday, although exporters could draw some buying on a slight fall in the yen against the dollar.

Elpida Memory Inc. will be in focus after the Nihon Keizai newspaper said the chipmaker will invest about 800 billion yen (.9 billion) to build a new dynamic random-access memory plant in Taiwan, aiming to more than triple its output capacity.

Elpida said it will hold a briefing at 3:30 p.m. (0630 GMT) on expanding its chip capacity.

''The market should hold steady today as Chicago futures were up and the yen has moved to the 115 yen level,'' said Hiroichi Nishi, a general manager of equity marketing at Nikko Cordial Securities, adding that investors would refrain from heavy selling ahead of Friday's data.

Japan will announce core machinery orders data and a revision to gross domestic product on Friday, offering clues on when the Bank of Japan will next raise interest rates.

Nikkei futures pointed to a slight rise in the market.

December futures traded in Chicago closed at 16,405 on Wednesday, up five points from their close in Osaka The Nikkei average is likely to move between 16,300 and 16,500 on Thursday, Nishi said, after closing the previous session up 0.65 percent at 16,371.28.

Some investors could put money into auto and tech exporters after the dollar gained some ground to trade at about 115.3 yen distancing itself from a four-month low around 114.4 yen hit earlier in the week.

U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday as concerns about the outlook for software maker Oracle Corp. hit technology shares and investors worried that November job growth could discourage the Federal Reserve from cutting interest rates any time soon.

The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.27 percent.

Nifty Corp. and Japaninvest Group are set to list their shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Sun Capital Management Corp.

is scheduled to list on the Osaka Securities Exchange's Hercules Section.

STOCKS TO WATCH -- Elpida Memory Inc. T> The chipmaker plans to invest about 800 billion yen (.94 billion) to build a new dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) plant in Taiwan, aiming to more than triple its output capacity for the memory chips, business daily Nihon Keizai reported on Thursday.

Elpida is in final talks to make the plant a joint venture with Powerchip Semiconductor Corp., a Taiwanese company to which Elpida provides technology and outsources some production, the paper said.

-- Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd.

South Korea's Hanjin Shipping Co. said on Wednesday it has entered a stake swap deal with Kawasaki Kisen under which the firms will buy about 59 billion won ( million) worth of each other's shares.

-- Nissin Food Products Co. Ltd. T> Activist investment fund Steel Partners has raised its stake in the instant noodle maker to 8.75 percent from 7.37 percent, according to a filing on Wednesday.

-- Lion Corp. T> The household goods producer said on Wednesday it would book a special profit of 5.0 billion yen on the sale of its stake in German consumer goods maker Henkel As a result, it raised its group net profit forecast for 2006 to 5.5 billion yen from 500 million yen.

-- Fast Retailing Co. Ltd. T> The operator of the Uniqlo casual wear chain will open a huge store in Paris next year as part of its overseas expansion, Chairman and President Tadashi Yanai was quoted as saying in an interview with the Nihon Keizai published on Thursday.

Yanai also told the newspaper he would like to make an acquisition in the United States and would consider acquiring a domestic apparel manufacturer that supplies department stores.

-- Japan Airlines Corp. T> The airline will likely sell fixed assets and shareholdings to book a special profit of 10 billion yen in the second half of the business year to March, the Nihon Keizai reported on Thursday.

-- Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.

Russia's top consumer electronics retailers threatened to boycott Panasonic products on Wednesday, accusing it of selling goods to intermediaries who often paid no import duties or lacked proper certification.

A spokesman in Tokyo for Matsushita, owner of the Panasonic brand, said he could not comment on the matter, while its Moscow office could not be reached for comment. -- Japan Tobacco Inc T> British tobacco company Gallaher Group Plc said on Wednesday it had received an approach that may lead to an offer for the group, with sources close to the situation saying the approach likely came from Japan Tobacco.

Reuters