Nikkei down 0.3 pct, exporters fall on stronger yen

TOKYO, Mar 13 (Reuters) The Nikkei average edged down 0.33 per cent on Tuesday, pulling back a little from the previous three sessions of gains as investors sold shares in exporters such as Honda Motor Co. Ltd. discouraged by a stronger yen.

Nikko Cordial Corp. jumped nearly 7 per cent after the Tokyo Stock Exchange late Monday ruled the brokerage could keep its listing, a surprise move that could force Citigroup to sweeten its buyout offer.

''The market doesn't have much energy to rise above this level after the SQ, as indicated by the fall in trade volume,'' said Toyo Securities senior strategist Katsuhiko Kodama, referring to the closely watched ''special quotation'' settlement price of Nikkei futures and options contracts that took place last week.

''Investors need more material for trade, and the currency needs to reach at least 118-119 yen against the dollar in order for the index to advance.'' Trade was less active on Monday, with 2.1 billion shares changing hands on the Tokyo exchange's first section, compared with the daily average of 2.7 billion last month.

The Nikkei was down 56.97 points at 17,235.42 as of 0144 GMT.

The broad TOPIX index fell 0.33 percent to 1,735.70.

The dollar recovered to 117.65 yen after falling as low as 117.22 yen in the previous session and back towards a three-month low of 115.16 yen hit last week.

A stronger yen weighs on exporters as it cuts the value of their overseas sales when translated back into the Japanese currency.

Citigroup last Tuesday announced its intention to acquire Nikko, the third-largest Japanese brokerage, for nearly billion, what would be its biggest-ever deal in Asia, but the exchange's decision could persuade shareholders to hold out for a higher price.

Nikko Cordial was up 6.2 percent at 1,491 yen.

Shares in exporters fell with Honda Motor declining 1.2 percent to 4,260 yen and Sony Corp. losing 1.8 percent to 6,130 yen.

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