Tokyo stocks seen lower on US, yen, earnings eyed

TOKYO, Aug 1 (Reuters) A tumble on Wall Street and a stronger yen are likely to weigh on Japanese stocks, especially high-tech exporters such as Canon Inc., on Wednesday, while investors are seen picking up individual issues with solid earnings results.

Shares of Tokyo Electric Power Co. Inc. may be another focus in the market after Asia's biggest power producer slashed its annual profit outlook by 79 percent as it faces the prospect that its quake-hit nuclear power plant will remain closed for at least eight months.

''Investors are likely to sell a broad range of shares at the opening, but they may start chasing individual stocks with good earnings from around 10 a.m., after the initial selling calms down,'' said Yutaka Miura, deputy manager of the equity information department at Shinko Securities.

''Still, unless U.S. stocks stop falling and the yen goes back to the 120 yen level, it will be hard for the Tokyo market to advance.'' Nikkei futures traded in Chicago finished the previous session at 17,140.00, 140 points below the Osaka close pointing to a lower opening.

Miura said the Nikkei would likely trade between 17,100 and 17,300 on Wednesday. The index finished the previous session down 0.23 percent at 17,248.89.

In late afternoon trading in New York, the euro was down 0.6 percent at 162.22 yen while the dollar was down 0.5 percent at 118.56 yen.

U.S. stocks tumbled on Tuesday as worries about the deteriorating credit market resurfaced with news of another mortgage lending casualty. The Dow Jones industrial average slid 1.10 percent to finish at 13,211.99.

Companies due to announce earnings results on Wednesday include Astellas Pharma Inc., Idemitsu Kosan and Casio Computer Co. Ltd.

STOCKS TO WATCH -- Nikon Corp.

Nikon revised up its annual operating profit forecast by 14 percent on Tuesday on strong sales of advanced cameras and a weak yen. The precision-equipment maker now expects an operating profit of 114 billion yen (8.5 million) for the year to March 2008, above a consensus estimate of 111.6 billion from 22 analysts.

-- Tokyo Electric Power Co. Inc.

TEPCO slashed its annual profit outlook by 79 percent to below expectations on Tuesday as it faces the prospect its quake-hit nuclear power plant will remain closed for at least 8 months.

-- Mizuho Financial Group Mizuho, Japan's second-largest bank, said its first-quarter profit slid 50 percent from the previous year, dented by losses on stock investments and weak commissions as Japan's mergers and acquisitions market turned downward.

-- Sharp Corp.

Sharp said it would spend 380 billion yen to build a new LCD plant in Japan, in a bid to better cope with steep price falls and compete with Sony Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co.

-- Canon Inc.

Canon said on Tuesday it would buy back up to 17 million of its own shares, or up to 100 billion yen worth, during August. It said the buyback was equivalent to about 1.3 percent of its outstanding shares.

-- Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. (MUFG) MUFG said on Tuesday its group net profit fell 31 percent due to the absence of big special items which aided last year's earnings, and as it was forced to hike provisions against interest repayments at its consumer lender unit.

-- Hitachi Ltd.

Hitachi, Japan's biggest industrial electronics firm, reported a 43 percent gain in quarterly operating profit on a weaker yen, and it stuck to its forecast for a big annual gain.

-- NEC Corp.

NEC reported a 42.5 percent rise in first quarter operating profit, helped by a weaker yen and cost cuts in its mobile handset business, which offset sluggish network system sales to carriers.

-- Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.

Japan's top drugmaker said on Tuesday that its quarterly profit rose 5 percent but left its annual outlook unchanged amid uncertainty over how much its diabetes pill Actos will benefit since safety concerns hit a rival drug.

-- Suzuki Motor Corp., Mazda Motor Corp.

Suzuki posted a double-digit rise in quarterly profits as sales of its compact cars grew globally, while a weak yen helped Mazda report solid operating profit growth. Both automakers left their full-year profit forecasts unchanged citing volatile exchange rates and unpredictable raw materials prices.

Reuters SAM VP0520