Nikkei seen trimming gains in thin trade

TOKYO, Dec 25 (Reuters) - Japanese stocks are seen falling for the first time in four sessions on Monday, on concerns that share prices may have risen too quickly during the latest rally and with trade volume curbed by holidays.

But continued weakness in the yen may lend support to exporters such as Toyota Motor Corp.

''We're likely to see some profit-taking today,'' said Toru Otsuka, deputy general manager of investment information at Mizuho Investors Securities.

''With the Christmas holiday in the U.S. we are also likely to see less buying by foreigners.'' Nikkei futures point to a slight gain in the market. December futures traded in Chicago closed at 17,145 on Friday, up 35 points from their close in Osaka The benchmark Nikkei average added 0.34 percent on Friday to end at 17,104.96, the highest close since May 9. The Nikkei is likely to move between 17,000 and 17,200, market participants said.

The yen was around 118.79 to the dollar in early Asian trade.

On Friday the yen fell to 118.97 to the dollar, its weakest since late October.

A weaker yen is a boon to companies that make the bulk of their sales abroad because it boosts profits when earnings from abroad are brought home.

STOCKS TO WATCH -- Mizuho Financial Group Inc. T> Mizuho, Japan's second-largest bank, said on Friday it will raise 400 billion yen ($3.4 billion) by issuing preferred securities through an overseas subsidiary.

The company said last month it had decided to issue preferred securities through a unit abroad, and said the funds would be provided to its subsidiaries as perpetual subordinated loans.

-- NEC Corp. T> Japanese electronics group NEC said on Friday its first-half net loss was 33.7 percent bigger than it reported in November, when it made a last-minute switch to Japanese accounting practices.

NEC corrected its earnings for the six months to Sept. 30 and its restated earnings for both the full year ended in March and its results for the first half of last business year.

REUTERS MQA RN0600