Tokyo stocks seen up on yen,eyes on U.S. earnings

TOKYO, Apr 16 (Reuters) Tokyo stocks are seen opening higher on Monday with exporters such as Sony Corp. rising on a softer yen after the G7 meeting, but gains may be limited as investors await earnings results in the United States later in the week for a clue about the U.S. economic outlook.

Another focus of the market may be Toshiba Corp.

The Nikkei business daily reported on Monday Toshiba plans to sell its wholly-owned subsidiary Toshiba Entertainment Inc. to advertising agency Hakuhodo DY Holdings Inc. in May and withdraw from the movie DVD business.

''Technology stocks are likely to get support from the currency as the yen further softened against the dollar and the euro following no warnings on the recent weakness of the yen at the Group of Seven (G7) meeting,'' said Norihiro Fujito, general manager of investment research and information division at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities.

The euro was at 162.21 yen in early Asian trade after hitting a record-high 162.22 yen, according to Reuters data. The dollar leapt to a seven-week high around 119.75 yen.

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.

''But trade is likely to become thinner as investors want to see U.S. company earnings results this week. If they come in below expectations, that could indicate a slowdown of U.S. stock recovery,'' he said.

Chip maker Intel Corp. and beverage company Coca-Cola Co., both components of the Dow Jones industrial average, are among the big names on this week's earnings calendar in the U.S., one of the biggest markets for Japanese goods.

Nikkei futures pointed to a rise in the market. Contracts expiring in June finished at 17,545 in Chicago, a gain of 145 points from the close in Osaka The Nikkei is likely to move between 17,400 and 17,600 on Monday, Fujito said.

The benchmark closed down 1.01 percent on Friday at 17,363.95.

U.S. stocks advanced on Friday with the Dow Jones industrial average rising 0.47 percent to end at 12,612.13.

STOCKS TO WATCH -- Nissan Motor Co.

Nissan will delay its target of selling 4.2 million vehicles globally during the business year ending in March 2009 as demand for its cars fall short of expectations, a source familiar with the matter said on Sunday.

-- Asics Corp.

Asics said on Friday that shoemaker Skechers USA Inc. had dropped a trade libel and unfair competition lawsuit against the Japanese sporting goods company.

-- Eisai Co. Ltd.

The drugmaker said on Friday it had tentatively withdrawn its European application for its Alzheimer's drug Aricept to be also used to treat severe forms of the disease.

-- Nissan, NEC Corp., and NEC Tokin Corp.

Nissan, NEC and unit NEC Tokin said on Friday they would form a joint venture company to produce lithium-ion batteries from 2009 to be used in hybrid and other electric cars and challenge rivals in the promising field.

-- Impact 21 Co.

Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. said on Friday it would acquire Japanese licensee Impact 21 Co. for about 5 million, aiming to expand in its second-largest market after the United States.

Polo Ralph said it would buy the 80 percent stake in Impact 21 that it does not already own at 2,600 yen per share, or an 18 percent premium to the stock's closing price on Friday.

-- Mitsubishi UFJ Nicos Co.

Consumer lender Mitsubishi UFJ Nicos on Friday estimated a bigger-than-expected 8 million annual net loss after it hiked reserves against legal claims by borrowers.

-- Victor Co. of Japan Ltd. (JVC). T>Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. is in the final stages of talks with TPG to reinvest in JVC after selling its 52.4 percent stake in the struggling electronics maker to the private equity firm, the Asahi newspaper said.

-- NTT DoCoMo Inc.

Japan's top mobile phone operator will launch a music download service offering unlimited downloading of full-length songs for a set monthly fee, the first such service in Japan, the Nikkei business daily said on Saturday.

-- Mitsubishi Estate Co.

The property firm likely beat its profit forecast for the past business year due a strong performance in its overseas operations and sales of properties in Japan, the Nikkei business daily said on Saturday.

-- Kokuyo Co.

The maker of office supplies is now expected to post a group pre-tax profit of 11.8 billion yen for the year ended March 31, down 24 percent year-on-year and missing the company's forecast of 14.3 billion yen, the Nikkei business daily said on Saturday.

Kokuyo's earnings were hurt by higher advertising costs and costs for new store openings at a furniture subsidiary. Tough price competition and high raw materials costs also depressed its profits, the newspaper said.

-- Yoshinoya D&C Co. Ltd.

Koshinoya, which runs a chain of ''gyudon'' restaurants serving bowls of beef on rice, said on Friday that it returned to a profit in the past business year and predicted higher profits this year following the lifting of a ban on U.S. beef imports.

Yoshinoya resumed sales of gyudon in September 2006 but serves the popular dish for a limited time each day.

The company recorded a group net profit of 2.1 billion yen for the year ended Feb. 2007, against a loss of 387 million yen in the 2005/06 business year. It forecast a profit of 3.5 billion yen for the current year through Feb. 2008.

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