Tokyo stocks seen gaining, earnings in focus

TOKYO, Apr 26 (Reuters) Tokyo stocks are seen advancing on Thursday after strong U.S. earnings pushed Wall Street higher and sent the Dow to a record close, though caution ahead of earnings results in Japan is likely to limit gains.

Shares of Sony Corp. may rise following a report the company will raise about 300 billion yen ($2.53 billion) for its mainstay electronics business by listing its financial unit.

Nikkei futures pointed to a rise in share prices. Contracts expiring in June finished at 17,495 in Chicago, a gain of 215 points from the close in Osaka ''We are likely to start the morning off strong, helped by the gains in Nikkei futures. However, the question is what the market will do after that,'' Shinji Igarashi, equity manager in the sales department at Chuo Securities.

Investors are likely to remain cautious due to coming earnings results, Igarashi said.

Toshiba Corp., Fujitsu Ltd., Nissan Motor Co. and Nintendo Co. Ltd. are among companies due to report earnings on Thursday.

The Nikkei is likely to move between 17,200 and 17,550 on Thursday, market participants said.

The benchmark edged down 1.24 percent to 17,236.16 on Wednesday.

U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday, with with the Dow Jones industrial average closing above 13,000 for the first time. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.92 percent.

STOCKS TO WATCH -- Sparx Asset Management Co., Pentax Corp., Hoya Corp. T> Sparx, the top shareholder in Pentax, said on Wednesday it plans to reappoint as director the Japanese camera maker's former president, who was pushed out after backing a merger plan with Hoya.

-- Sharp Corp.

Sharp posted a 14 percent rise in operating profit on Wednesday for the business year just ended on robust demand for its flat panel TVs, but forecast a smaller-than-expected 2 percent gain this year.

-- Honda Motor Co.

Honda forecast on Wednesday a surprise 3 percent drop in profit this year, citing an expected rise in the yen, high commodity prices and a global shift to lower-margin compact cars, even as vehicle sales are set to soar to record levels.

-- Advantest Corp.

Advantest, the world's largest maker of microchip testers, said on Wednesday its net profit fell 14 percent last business year as chip makers delayed spending, and forecast a weaker-than-expected recovery this year.

-- Resona Holdings Inc.

Resona said on Wednesday it would raise $3 billion from U.S.

investment bank Merrill Lynch to help it repay money received in government bail-outs.

-- Promise Co.

The consumer lender said on Wednesday its annual net loss likely totalled $3.2 billion, more than double its previous forecast, amid a crackdown on the industry by lawmakers and the courts.

-- Hitachi Construction Machinery Co.

The construction machinery maker said on Wednesday its profit jumped 51 percent in the past business year and forecast growth of 18 percent as strong demand for excavators in Europe and Asia offsets a slowdown in the U.S.

-- KK DaVinci Advisors, TOC Co. Japanese real estate fund operator KK DaVinci Advisors said on Wednesday it has proposed a tender offer for control of building leasing firm TOC Co. to counter TOC's planned management buyout.

REUTERS DKS BST0554