Tokyo stocks seen higher after Wall Street rally

TOKYO, Apr 4 (Reuters) Tokyo stocks are seen advancing on Wednesday, with shares of exporters such as Toyota Motor Corp.

gaining after a rise in U.S. home sales eased concerns about the outlook for the U.S. market and sparked a rally on Wall Street.

Nikkei futures pointed to a rise in the market. Contracts expiring in June finished at 17,445 in Chicago, a rise of 175 points from the close in Osaka.

''We could see the Nikkei advance as far as 17,500 after the gains on Wall Street,'' said Katsuhiko Kodama, senior strategist at Toyo Securities.

The Nikkei is likely to move between 17,300 and 17,500 on Wednesday, Kodama said.

The benchmark rose 1.27 percent to 17,244.05 on Tuesday.

U.S. stocks rose sharply, with the Dow Jones industrial average adding 1.03 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index gaining 1.16 percent.

STOCKS TO WATCH -- Mazda Motor Corp.

The head of Mazda Motor said on Tuesday that issuing new shares was one of many options for raising funds to increase research and development as well as other investment spending.

-- Kirin Brewery Co. Ltd.

Kirin Brewery said that it would sell its 19.83 percent stake, or 5,714,000 shares, in Yonekyu Corp to Mitsubishi Corp Based on Tuesday's closing price of Yonekyu, the deal is worth 6.86 billion yen.

-- Aeon Co., Lawson Inc.

Japanese retailer Aeon is in talks with convenience store chain Lawson about an alliance in electronic money-payment services, the companies said on Tuesday.

-- Fast Retailing The operator of the Uniqlo clothing chain said on Tuesday its same-store sales in March rose 7.4 percent from a year earlier thanks to strong sales of spring items and jeans.

-- Shinsei Bank Shinsei said on Tuesday it expected to post a 58 billion yen group net loss for the just-ended financial year, reversing its previous forecast for a profit as it writes down the value of its consumer lending business.

Reuters SBA VP0512