Nikkei expected to meander, Fast Retailing eyed

By Staff
|
Google Oneindia News

TOKYO, July 6 (Reuters) Japan's Nikkei average is expected to move little on Friday due to a lack of trading incentives to drive the overall market, though investors may buy some tech stocks following a rise in similar U.S. shares.

Fast Retailing Co. will be in focus after the clothing retailer launched an unsolicited rival bid to acquire Barneys New York Inc. for 0 million, which tops the Jones Apparel Group's existing pact to sell the upscale clothing chain for 5 million.

Toshihiko Matsuno, a manager in the investment research department at SMBC Friend Securities, said the Nikkei would likely move between 18,100 and 18,300 on Friday after finishing the previous session up 0.3 percent at 18,221.48.

The Nikkei has hit a wall of selling when it nears a 7-year intraday high of 18,300.39 marked in February.

''We are probably not going to move a whole lot today. We'll see investors squaring positions and not a whole lot more. It will be interesting to see if we can hold near the (7-year) high,'' Matsuno said.

Nikkei futures traded in Chicago finished the previous session at 18,235.

Kyocera Corp. and other high-tech issues may lure buyers after the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.44 percent following a robust report from the Institute of Supply Management on the service sector and Apple Inc. shot to a record on expectations of strong sales for its iPhone.

Softbank Corp. will also be in focus ahead of June subscriber growth data in the afternoon. Softbank's stock rallied earlier this week on speculation it would repeat its performance in May, when it added the most users to outpace rivals NTT DoCoMo Inc.

and KDDI Corp. for the first time.

Matsuno said investors may continue to buy paper, shipping and precision equipment stocks, as well as snap up energy-related shares such as trading houses Mitsubishi Corp. due to the strengthening price of crude oil.

STOCKS TO WATCH -- Resona Holdings Inc.

Resona may soon ask its top shareholder, the Japanese government, to sell part of its TOKYO, July 6 (Reuters) Japan's Nikkei average is expected to move little on Friday due to a lack of trading incentives to drive the overall market, though investors may buy some tech stocks following a rise in similar U.S. shares.

Fast Retailing Co. will be in focus after the clothing retailer launched an unsolicited rival bid to acquire Barneys New York Inc. for $900 million, which tops the Jones Apparel Group's existing pact to sell the upscale clothing chain for $825 million.

Toshihiko Matsuno, a manager in the investment research department at SMBC Friend Securities, said the Nikkei would likely move between 18,100 and 18,300 on Friday after finishing the previous session up 0.3 percent at 18,221.48.

The Nikkei has hit a wall of selling when it nears a 7-year intraday high of 18,300.39 marked in February.

''We are probably not going to move a whole lot today. We'll see investors squaring positions and not a whole lot more. It will be interesting to see if we can hold near the (7-year) high,'' Matsuno said.

Nikkei futures traded in Chicago finished the previous session at 18,235.

Kyocera Corp. and other high-tech issues may lure buyers after the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.44 percent following a robust report from the Institute of Supply Management on the service sector and Apple Inc. shot to a record on expectations of strong sales for its iPhone.

Softbank Corp. will also be in focus ahead of June subscriber growth data in the afternoon. Softbank's stock rallied earlier this week on speculation it would repeat its performance in May, when it added the most users to outpace rivals NTT DoCoMo Inc.

and KDDI Corp. for the first time.

Matsuno said investors may continue to buy paper, shipping and precision equipment stocks, as well as snap up energy-related shares such as trading houses Mitsubishi Corp. due to the strengthening price of crude oil.

STOCKS TO WATCH -- Resona Holdings Inc.

Resona may soon ask its top shareholder, the Japanese government, to sell part of its $2.5 billion stake in the bank as it looks to pay back some of its government bailout money, Resona's new president said on Thursday.

Separately, the Nikkei business daily reported that Nomura Holdings was in talks with Resona on a possible alliance that could involve a purchase of 100 billion yen worth of preferred shares in the bank.

-- Millea Holdings Inc.

Millea said on Thursday it will voluntarily have its shares delisted from the U.S. Nasdaq market and stop reporting its earnings under U.S. accounting rules to save costs.

-- Doutor Coffee Co.

Hedge-fund group Harbinger Capital Partners reduced its stake in Doutor even as it was engaged in a proxy fight to block the Japanese company from merging with Nippon Restaurant System, according to a statement filed with regulators on Thursday.

-- Seven&I Holdings Co. Ltd.

Seven&Holdings posted a 6 percent quarterly profit gain on Thursday, helped by a rebound at its supermarket operations and putting it on track for modest profit growth this business year.

-- Showa Denko KK Showa Denko will likely post a group operating profit of 34 billion yen for the first half, unchanged from a year earlier but beating its forecast for 30 billion yen as naphtha prices soared, the Nikkei business daily reported on Friday.

-- kabu.com Securities Co. and other online brokers Japan's five major online brokerages reported combined trading value of 46.1 trillion yen for the April-June quarter, down 9 percent from a year earlier, the Nikkei business daily reported on Friday.

REUTERS DKS RAI0552 .5 billion stake in the bank as it looks to pay back some of its government bailout money, Resona's new president said on Thursday.

Separately, the Nikkei business daily reported that Nomura Holdings was in talks with Resona on a possible alliance that could involve a purchase of 100 billion yen worth of preferred shares in the bank.

-- Millea Holdings Inc.

Millea said on Thursday it will voluntarily have its shares delisted from the U.S. Nasdaq market and stop reporting its earnings under U.S. accounting rules to save costs.

-- Doutor Coffee Co.

Hedge-fund group Harbinger Capital Partners reduced its stake in Doutor even as it was engaged in a proxy fight to block the Japanese company from merging with Nippon Restaurant System, according to a statement filed with regulators on Thursday.

-- Seven&I Holdings Co. Ltd.

Seven&Holdings posted a 6 percent quarterly profit gain on Thursday, helped by a rebound at its supermarket operations and putting it on track for modest profit growth this business year.

-- Showa Denko KK Showa Denko will likely post a group operating profit of 34 billion yen for the first half, unchanged from a year earlier but beating its forecast for 30 billion yen as naphtha prices soared, the Nikkei business daily reported on Friday.

-- kabu.com Securities Co. and other online brokers Japan's five major online brokerages reported combined trading value of 46.1 trillion yen for the April-June quarter, down 9 percent from a year earlier, the Nikkei business daily reported on Friday.

REUTERS DKS RAI0552

For Daily Alerts
Get Instant News Updates
Enable
x
Notification Settings X
Time Settings
Done
Clear Notification X
Do you want to clear all the notifications from your inbox?
Settings X
X