Nikkei seen stuck in range ahead of U.S. jobs data

TOKYO, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average
is seen trading in a range on Friday ahead of jobs data in the
United States, with strategists saying the market would remain
firm after a recent rally.

The Nikkei was likely to trade between 8,800 and
8,900, strategists said, while Nikkei futures in Chicago
<0#NIY:> closed at 8,865 on Thursday, down 5 points, or 0.1
percent, from the Osaka close of 8,870.

"Market players will likely take a wait-and-see stance ahead
of U.S. payrolls data and as Greece has not reached a debt swap
deal yet," said Masayuki Doshida, senior market analyst at
Rakuten Securities.

"But when you look at what investors have been doing
recently, they are rotating between sectors and they are not
pulling money out of the market, so the market will likely
remain supported."

U.S. nonfarm payrolls, due at 1330 GMT, likely rose by
150,000 after increasing 200,000 in December, according to a
Reuters survey. The unemployment rate is seen holding steady at
a near three-year low of 8.5 percent.

The Nikkei ended 0.8 percent higher at 8,876.82 on Thursday,
extending gains after rallying 4.1 percent in January, while the
broader Topix index rose 0.6 percent to 762.45.

Japan's corporate earnings results have been disappointing
so far, however. Sony Corp on Thursday forecast a 220
billion yen ($2.9 billion) net loss for the year to March, its
fourth straight year of red ink and close to double what the
market had expected.

Out of the 91 Nikkei companies that have reported quarterly
figures, two-third of them failed to meet market expectations,
according to Thomson Reuters StarMine. That compared with
one-third of S&P 500 companies.

BNP Paribas was downbeat on Japanese equities, recommending
investors go long on Germany's DAX and short on the
Nikkei, citing cheaper valuation in the German index and the
strong yen.

"Both indices are heavily weighted with cyclicals but the
Nikkei has a little more. This can be seen during past
recessions where DAX earnings haven't fallen by as much," BNP
Paribas wrote in a note to clients. "The combination of the
rally in the yen with a trend for defensiveness is further
hurting the Nikkei."

"The DAX has the opposite scenario. It is a free-rider on a
euro weakened by the European periphery and easy monetary policy
than it deserves alone."

> Wall St holds steady as payrolls set to test rally
> Dollar edges up vs euro before U.S. jobs report
> Treasuries little changed on jobs hope, Europe concerns

> Gold rises to two-month high,, awaits U.S. payrolls
> Brent up, U.S. crude down, premium near 3-month high

STOCKS TO WATCH

--SONY CORP

The Japanese electronic group warned it was heading for a
bigger-than-expected $2.9 billion annual loss, presenting a
daunting task for incoming CEO Kazuo Hirai, who vowed to move
quickly to turn things around.

--ELPIDA MEMORY INC

Elpida Memory posted a wider-than-expected quarterly loss
and said it is in talks on an aid package as the chipmaker
wrestles with a tough market and imminent debt repayments that
have raised pressure on it to seek an equity tie-up.

--TAKEDA PHARMACEUTICAL CO

Sucampo Pharmaceuticals and Takeda Pharmaceuticals
USA said their treatment for opioid-induced bowel dysfunction
met the main goal of a late-stage trial and they will submit a
supplemental marketing application for the drug in the first
half of 2012.

--SUMCO CORP

Sumco, the world's No.2 maker of wafers used to make
semiconductors, said on Thursday it plans to cut about 1,300
workers, or 15 percent of its work force, and to shutter
production lines as it fights sluggish prices and rising
materials costs.
($1 = 76.1500 Japanese yen)

(Reporting by Dominic Lau and Hideyuki Sano; Editing by Joseph
Radford)