Nikkei flat, machine stocks down but card firms up

TOKYO, Apr 11 (Reuters) The Nikkei share average was little changed on Wednesday as investors sold shares of Fanuc Ltd. and other machine makers following downbeat machinery orders data, offsetting gains in property and other domestic demand-related stocks.

Shares of credit card companies advanced after sources close to the matter said on Wednesday Japanese supermarket Daiei Inc.

plans to offer a stake of around 30 percent in its credit card unit OMC Card Inc. to various bidders this month.

The land transport sector IRAIL.became the best performer among the TOPIX's 33 industry sub-indexes, as East Japan Railway Co. jumped about 4 percent after Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of the stock with a ''buy'' rating.

Trade remained slow as foreign investors refrained from buying shares actively amid caution about the U.S. economy.

Full-year earnings reports from major Japanese corporations, due to start later this month, also added to a cautious mood as investors expect companies to forecast conservative numbers for the new business year started in April.

''Retail investors who had bought Tokyo shares amid global stock sell-offs have been taking profits since the Nikkei regained 1,000 points from the February low, making the market's upside heavy,'' said Takahiko Murai, general manager of equities at Nozomi Securities.

The Nikkei was down 0.08 percent or 13.65 points at 17,651.04 at 0500 GMT. The broad TOPIX index dipped 0.01 percent to 1,735.58.

Rakuten Securities chief strategist Hiroyuki Fukunaga said stocks are likely to continue moving on individual news until next big events such as corporate earnings results this month.

Machinery shares slid after core private-sector machinery orders, a key gauge of corporate capital spending, fell 5.2 percent in February from January, below a consensus forecast for a 0.2 percent fall.

Construction machinery maker Komatsu Ltd. fell 0.4 percent to 2,580 yen, while industrial robot maker Fanuc was flat at 11,480 yen after falling as low as 11,390.

But Credit Saison Co. Ltd. gained 1 percent to 3,870 yen after the credit card firm said on Wednesday it would consider bidding for shares in OMC Card if they were offered by Daiei.

Shares of OMC Card jumped 3.7 percent to 984 yen.

Sumitomo Realty&Development Co. Ltd. added 0.7 percent to trade at 4,260 yen after Goldman Sachs said in a report on Tuesday that it had raised its target price for the stock to 5,270 yen from 4,400 yen.

Among other gainers, TDK Corp. rose 1.8 percent to 10,670 yen after the Nikkei business daily reported on Wednesday the company's group net profit for the year ended March 31 is estimated at a record high of 64 billion yen, up 45 percent from a year earlier and beating its own projection by 1 billion yen.

REUTERS CS RK1150