Reuters: Market News: Nikkei seen stuck in range, weak yen offsets ex-div

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Nikkei seen stuck in range, weak yen offsets ex-div Mar 27th 2012, 23:13 Tue Mar 27, 2012 7:13pm EDT TOKYO, March 28 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei index is expected to tread in a range on Wednesday after rallying 2.4 percent to hit its highest closing level since a massive earthquake in March last year, as a softer yen countered the impact of Japanese stocks going ex-dividend. The Nikkei was likely to trade between 10,100 and 10,300, strategists said, while Nikkei futures in Chicago closed at 10,130 on Tuesday, down 50 points or 0.5 percent from the Osaka close of 10,180. "The Nikkei will be steady. The ex-dividend is a downside factor but the yen depreciation will be positive," said Takashi Hiroki, chief strategist at Monex Inc. The yen was last traded at 83.15 to the dollar, well off a one-week high of 81.97 yen hit on Friday. "The foreign exchange rate is a much more important factor for Japanese stocks," Hiroki said. Two traders said the impact of stocks in the benchmark Nikkei going ex-dividend was expected to take about 86 points off the index. On Tuesday, the Nikkei climbed 2.4 percent to 10,255.15. The broader Topix advanced 2.4 percent to 872.42. The Nikkei has surged more than 21 percent this year, buoyed by a run of strong U.S. economic data and accommodative monetary policies by global central banks. > Wall St dips, but winners gain as quarter's end near > Dollar climbs, snapping two-day drop vs euro > Treasuries rise on outlook for supportive Fed policy > Gold drops more in late trade after options expiry > Brent dips; potential oil reserve release weighs STOCKS TO WATCH --SHARP CORP Sharp will issue shares worth $808 million to Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry as part of a tie-up in liquid crystal display production aimed at reversing losses at the Japanese firm from declining TV sales. The issue of 66.9 billion yen ($808 million) worth of shares will give Hon Hai, the main manufacturer of Apple devices, around an 11 percent stake in Sharp, making it the top shareholder in Japan's biggest LCD maker. --HITACHI LTD The Japanese group has approached Italy's Finmeccanica about buying some of the rail operations the Italian defence firm wants to sell, a union official said on Tuesday. --SONY CORP Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai signalled his determination to turn around the group's ailing TV business by keeping direct charge of the division, as the Japanese brand fights to regain ground against rivals such as Apple. Separately, Sony, Apple Inc and four other companies were sued by Graphics Properties Holdings Inc, formerly known as Silicon Graphics Inc, for allegedly infringing a patent through their sale of mobile phones and other electronic devices. --TOYOTA MOTOR CORP Toyota and BMW AG said on Tuesday they have started researching next-generation lithium-ion batteries together as part of their agreement last December to collaborate on various environmentally friendly technologies. Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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