Nikkei set for worst weekly losing run in 20 yrs

TOKYO, June 1 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei is expected to open
lower on Friday, heading for a ninth straight week of losses to
match its longest such run in 20 years, after soft U.S. data
added to concerns over global growth as Europe struggled with a
debt crisis.

Strategists expected the Nikkei to trade between
8,450 and 8,550 after shedding 1.1 percent to 8,542.73 on
Thursday to log its worst monthly fall in two years. The index
is down 0.4 percent this week.

Nikkei futures in Chicago <0#NIY:> closed at 8,485 on
Thursday, down 0.5 percent from the Osaka close of
8,530.

"The weak sentiment will continue today," said Takashi
Hiroki, chief strategist at Monex Inc.

"The Japanese stock market face two negative factors: yen
appreciation against the euro and the dollar, and the other is
the concern over the U.S. jobs report."

U.S. jobless claims rose for the seventh week in eight,
putting investors on edge before Friday's monthly nonfarm
payrolls report, while factory activity in the U.S. Midwest
slowed considerably this month and economic growth in the first
quarter was a bit softer than initially estimated.

Economists in a Reuters poll forecast 150,000 jobs were
created in may compared with 115,000 new jobs in April and the
unemployment rate is expected to remain at 8.1 percent, a repeat
of the April rate.

The broader Topix fell 0.6 percent to 719.49 on
Thursday. It is down 0.4 percent this week, and if it were to
end the week lower, it would mark its worst weekly losing run
since 1975.

The Bank of Japan bought 39.7 billion yen worth of
exchange-traded funds on Thursday, buying for a second day in a
row to support the market.

The sell-off has taken the Topix's 12-month forward
price-to-earnings ratio to 10.9, a level not seen since November
2008, data from Thomson Reuters Datastream showed.

> Wall Street closes dire month with a whimper
> European fiscal woes sink euro against dollar, yen
> Jittery investors chase U.S. bond yields to record lows
> Gold post 6 pct loss in May despite daily gain
> Oil ends with biggest monthly loss since Dec 2008

STOCKS TO WATCH

--MAZDA MOTOR CORP

Mazda plans to cut 250 jobs, a quarter of its staff in
Europe and the United States, in fiscal 2012, as it reorganises
sales management in Japan and overseas, the Nikkei reported.

--TAKEDA PHARMACEUTICAL CO LTD

Taking Takeda Pharmaceutical's diabetes drug Actos for more
than two years doubles the risk of bladder cancer, although in
absolute terms the risk is still low, researchers said on
Thursday.

(Reporting by Dominic Lau; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)