Tokyo shares outlook - Higher on Wall St rebound, but firm yen may weigh

Tokyo shares outlook - Higher on Wall St rebound, but firm yen may weigh

	Published : Wed, 28 Feb 2007 23:54 By : Agencies Print this Story

TOKYO (XFN-ASIA) - Share prices are expected to open higher after Wall Street recovered some ground following Tuesday's slump although a stronger yen may limit any rebound, dealers said.

Comments from US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke that there was no single trigger for the global equity correction and he had not changed his forecast for moderate US growth this year helped US stocks recover including the Dow industrials which plunged 416 points on Tuesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 52.39 points or 0.43 pct at 12,268.63, while the Nasdaq was up 8.27 points or 0.34 pct at 2,4165.15.

In Chicago, the Nikkei futures contract settled at 17,485 points, down from 17,540 at the Osaka Securities Exchange yesterday.

On the Tokyo bourse, the Nikkei 225 Stock Average finished down 515.80 points or 2.85 pct at 17,604.12. The TOPIX index of all first-section issues dropped 58.59 points or 3.23 pct to settle at 1,752.74.

Ahead in Japan, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association and the Japan Minivehicles Association will release new vehicle and minivehicle sales for February.

Steelmakers Nippon Steel, Kobe Steel and JFE Holdings will release their earnings forecasts for the

current year ending March 31.

Stocks to watch include Lawson Inc and Ninety-nine Plus Inc after the two companies agreed to form

a capital and business alliance to enhance their one-coin shop businesses.

Yoshinoya D&C Co Ltd may be in focus after the company said it has decided to shift to a holding

firm structure to adapt to the rapid changes in the restaurant industry and to help spur mergers and acquisitions.

Mitsui & Co Ltd may move on news that the trading house will buy Steel Technologies Inc, a US flat-rolled steel processor, for about 396 mln usd in cash.

JFE Holdings Inc may be active following a report that Japan's second-largest steelmaker will adopt anti-takeover defenses that would allow it to issue equity warrants if a potential acquisition threatens its corporate value.

(1 usd = 118.42 yen)

yasuhiko.seki@xfn.com

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