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TOKYO, July 10 (Reuters) Japanese stocks may pull back on Tuesday from a seven-year closing high hit the previous session, with investors likely to take profits in recent gainers.

One issue in focus may be Bull-Dog Sauce Co. Ltd. Steel Partners lost an appeal to block Bull-Dog from erecting anti-takeover defences aimed at thwarting the hedge fund's $260 million takeover bid, court documents showed, dealing another blow to shareholder activism in Japan.

''Profit-taking is likely to weigh on the market following yesterday's rally, which was largely prompted by advances in global markets,'' said Norihiro Fujito, a general manager of Mitsubishi UFJ Securities' investment research and information division.

Nikkei futures traded in Chicago finished Monday at 18,235.00, 45 points below the Osaka close pointing to a slightly lower opening.

Fujito said the Nikkei would likely move between 18,200 and 18,350 on Tuesday after ending the previous session up 0.67 percent at 18,261.98, the highest close since May 2000.

''It will still be difficult for the Nikkei to go above 18,300 unless it sees more active trade,'' he said.

On Monday, trade volume remained moderately slow, with 1.7 billion shares changing hands on the Tokyo exchange's first section, below last year's daily average of 1.9 billion shares.

U.S. stocks rose on Monday on growing optimism about second-quarter earnings and plans by Johnson&Johnson and ConocoPhillips to buy back shares.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.28 percent to end at 13,649.97.

STOCKS TO WATCH -- Kirin Holdings Japan's second-biggest brewer said on Monday its first-half profit would fall by a smaller-than-expected 21 percent on lower promotion costs, and a robust performance from its partner San Miguel -- KK DaVinci Advisors DaVinci Advisors plans to invest up to an additional 220 billion yen ($1.8 billion) in Japanese companies and push them to unlock the value of their real estate, DaVinci's chief executive told Reuters in an interview on Monday.

-- Resona Holdings Inc.

A unit of Resona said on Monday it had lost records of some 980,000 transactions that occurred during the past nine years at branches across the country.

-- Seiko Epson Corp.

Lexmark International Inc., Seiko Epson's rival in the printer market, slashed its second-quarter earnings outlook on Monday, citing disappointing revenue from inkjet printers and cartridges, and its shares fell as much as 12 percent.

-- Sumitomo Chemical Co.

Sumitomo Chemical has revised up its production plans for a factory it is building in Poland to make diffusion plates and polarising filters for liquid crystal display televisions, the Nikkei business daily reported on Tuesday.

-- Bic Camera Inc.

Bic Camera, a Japanese electronics retailer, forecast on Monday it will post a 13 percent rise in net profit at 6.8 billion yen in the year ending in August.

It also lifted its annual dividend forecast to 1,500 yen per share from the previously forecast 1,000 yen, and said it planned a 2-for-1 share split on Sept. 1 for shareholders as of Aug. 31.

Reuters SBA VP0515