TOKYO, Feb 9 The Nikkei share average is seen taking its cue on Friday from machinery ord

TOKYO, Feb 9 (Reuters) The Nikkei share average is seen taking its cue on Friday from machinery orders data for December, due to be released just before the start of trade.

Core machinery orders, a volatile figure seen as a leading gauge of capital spending, are expected to have fallen slightly in December.

''The machinery data will likely set the tone for the start of trade,'' Shinji Igarashi, an equity manager at the sales department of Chuo Securities.

Transactions related to the settlement of Nikkei options contracts could cause the market to edge higher at the start of trade, Igarashi said.

The settlement price for options is calculated from the opening prices of the 225 shares on the benchmark Nikkei average on the second Friday of the month.

Nikkei futures pointed to little change in the market.

Contracts expiring in March finished at 17,275 in Chicago, a fall of 5 points from the close in Osaka The Nikkei is likely to move between 17,200 and 17,400 on Friday, market participants said.

The benchmark was little changed on Thursday, closing up 0.16 at 17,292.48.

STOCKS TO WATCH -- Softbank Corp. T> Softbank said its quarterly operating profit more than tripled thanks to its acquisition of Vodafone's Japan unit, but the telecoms operator expects a slimmer profit in January-March as promotion costs mount.

-- Japan Tobacco Inc. (JT) T> The world's third-largest tobacco maker posted a 9 percent rise in operating profit for the nine months to December, led by strong overseas sales, and raised its full-year forecast by 3 percent to above market expectations.

-- Sanyo Electric Co. and Sanyo Electric Credit Co. Ltd. OS> Goldman Sachs and Sanyo Electric Co. are set to sell their combined 50 percent stake in leasing firm Sanyo Electric Credit Co. to GE Capital for about 45 billion yen ($371.8 million), sources close to the matter said on Thursday.

-- Mazda Motor Corp. T> Mazda posted a 7.5 percent rise in quarterly profit on Thursday, powered by the yen's slide and increased exports to North America and Europe, and tweaked its annual forecasts to account for a softer yen and slower growth in vehicle sales.

-- Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings and Mitsubishi Plastics Industries Ltd.

Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings said on Thursday it would launch a tender offer for Mitsubishi Plastics Industries and integrate it with three other firms, to make plastics a new business pillar alongside its chemical and healthcare divisions.

Mitsubishi Chemical said its subsidiary Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. would bid 410 yen for every Mitsubishi Plastics share it did not own, a 9 percent premium to the last traded price.

-- Bic Camera Inc., Edion Corp. T> Japanese electronics retailers Bic Camera and Edion said they would takes small stakes in each other and discuss a business integration that would create the industry's biggest group ahead of current leader Yamada Denki Co.

-- Nikko Cordial Corp. T> The Tokyo Stock Exchange will decide in mid-March whether to delist the shares of scandal-hit brokerage Nikko Cordial, TSE President Taizo Nishimuro said on Thursday.

-- Toray Industries Inc.

The company will invest a total of 55 billion yen to boost output capacity of carbon fibre by about 30 percent by the end of 2008, the Nikkei business daily reported on Friday. ($1=121.02 Yen) REUTERS DKS BST0545