Nikkei flat in thin trade, Sanyo Electric surges

TOKYO, May 29 (Reuters) The Nikkei average was little changed in thin trade on Tuesday, as market participants said a lack of factors to move on prompted investors to cash in shares such as TDK Corp.

But shares of Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. surged 10.9 percent to 214 yen. The struggling electronics maker posted an annual operating profit for the year just ended, helped by aggressive cost cuts.

Politics remained a topic for market participants after a minister in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet committed suicide on Monday, compounding problems for Abe's Liberal Democratic Party ahead of a July election.

With few factors for investors to trade on, stocks are likely to remain rangebound, said Takahiko Murai, a general manager of equities at Nozomi Securities.

''If the Nikkei doesn't top the 18,000 level I don't think we'll see an influx of money. Ultimately, it seems the market is going to be stuck between 17,500 and 17,800,'' Murai said.

The Nikkei was up 7.54 points at 17,595.13 as of 0051 GMT.

The broad TOPIX index was up 0.25 percent at 1,728.66.

Concern about the outlook for Abe's pro-market coalition was also prompting market players to take a cautious tack, as any delays to reforms could deter foreign investors.

''If you look at recent surveys, popular support for the government continues to fall. The consensus had been that the LDP wouldn't lose (July's) Upper House election,'' Nozomi's Murai said.

''Now, people want to wait and see.'' Some recent gainers such as TDK were among the decliners. The maker of electronics components dropped 1.2 percent to 10,840 yen.

Shares of industrial robot maker Fanuc Ltd. slipped 0.3 percent to 11,390 yen.

Shares of telecom and Internet firm Softbank Corp. rose 1.9 percent to 2,685 yen.

REUTERS SBA BST0645