TOKYO, March 4 (Reuters) - Japanese stocks are likely to gain
ground on Tuesday, with beaten-down shares such as Canon Inc
(7751.T: Quote, Profile, Research) rising after the Nikkei average fell to a nearly
six-week closing low the previous day and the dollar halted a
sharp sell-off against a basket of major currencies.

Nikkei futures traded in Chicago 2NKc1 closed at 13,135 on
Monday, up 145 points from the close in Osaka JNIc1, pointing
to a higher opening.

"Japanese stocks are likely to rebound after dropping sharply
yesterday and U.S. stocks didn't fall as much," said Kazuhiro
Takahashi, general manager of the equity marketing department at
Daiwa Securities SMBC.

"Also, the yen seems to have calmed down a bit after moving
around so much in recent sessions, providing some support to
exporters."

One stock in focus may be Pioneer Corp (6773.T: Quote, Profile, Research) after the
Nikkei business daily said the firm is finalising plans to stop
all production of plasma display panels as early as this year and
will instead procure panels from Matsushita Electric Industrial
Co (6752.T: Quote, Profile, Research).

On Monday, the benchmark Nikkei .N225 shed 4.5 percent to
end at 12,992.18, its lowest close since Jan. 23.
---------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2243 GMT ------------

INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 .SPX 1331.34 0.05% 0.710
USD/JPY JPY= 103.44 -0% 0.000
10-YR US TSY YLD US10YT=RR 3.5524 -- 0.000
SPOT GOLD XAU= 983.2 -0.02% -0.200
US CRUDE CLc1 102.4 0.55% 0.560
DOW JONES .DJI 12258.90 -0.06% -7.49
------------------------------------------------------------
> Dow, S&P 500 end flat as commodity shares rally [.N]
> Dollar steadies after ISM; U.S. data eyed [USD/]
> Bonds dip as factory data falls short of gloom [US/]
> Gold ends higher on oil, dollar; nears $1,000 [GOL/]
> Oil hits new peak on OPEC, weak dollar [O/R]
STOCKS TO WATCH

-- Pioneer Corp (6773.T: Quote, Profile, Research)

Pioneer Corp is finalising plans to stop all production of
plasma display panels as early as this year and will instead
procure panels from Matsushita Electric Industrial Co (6752.T: Quote, Profile, Research),
the Nikkei business daily reported on Tuesday.

Pioneer will focus on assembly of flat panel TVs in an
attempt to boost profitability at its struggling TV operations,
the newspaper said.

-- Sony Corp (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research)

Sony Corp and Samsung Electronics Co (005930.KS: Quote, Profile, Research) have reached
a basic agreement to invest an additional 200 billion yen ($1.93
billion) to boost production at their liquid crystal display
(LCD) joint venture, the Nikkei business daily reported on
Tuesday.

The investment will be shared equally between Sony and
Samsung and will be used to build a factory able to produce
50,000 to 60,000 eighth-generation glass substrates a month, the
newspaper said.

-- Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T: Quote, Profile, Research), Nissan Motor Co Ltd (7201.T: Quote, Profile, Research),
Honda Motor Co Ltd (7267.T: Quote, Profile, Research)

Toyota and Nissan reported U.S. February sales declines,
while Honda did the best among major automakers with an increase
of nearly 1 percent. [ID:nN03239175]

Auto sales represent one of the first snapshots of overall
U.S. consumer demand, and the weakness could provide more
evidence for those who believe the U.S. economy has already
slipped into recession.

-- Sekisui House Ltd (1928.T: Quote, Profile, Research)

Sekisui House, Japan's largest home builder, expects its
profits to fall further this year as the industry struggles to
recover from stricter regulations and faces soaring costs for
materials. [ID:nT83110]

-- Nomura Holdings Inc (8604.T: Quote, Profile, Research)

Nomura Holdings, Japan's largest brokerage, said it would
replace chief executive Nobuyuki Koga in the wake of a
restructuring of its U.S. unit and a deep earnings slump.
[ID:nT185250]

-- Orix Corp (8591.T: Quote, Profile, Research)

Financial services group Orix Corp is vying for a Japanese
dental products and generic drug firm being auctioned by venture
capital and buyout firm Jafco Co Ltd (8595.T: Quote, Profile, Research), sources briefed on
the deal said. [ID:nTKB002961]

-- Lawson Inc (2651.T: Quote, Profile, Research)

Lawson, Japan's second-largest convenience store chain, said
it was looking to swallow up smaller rivals as it saw little room
for extra stores in the $72 billion market after three decades of
steep expansion. [ID:nT150569]

-- Aozora Bank Ltd (8304.T: Quote, Profile, Research)

U.S. private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management [CBS.UL]
will pay up to $416 million to raise its stake in Japan's Aozora
Bank to nearly 46 percent, a little more than a month after the
midsize lender cut its earnings outlook on subprime losses.

Cerberus will pay as much as 42.9 billion yen ($416 million)
to boost its holding from almost 38 percent now, Aozora said in a
statement, adding that it supported the bid. Cerberus will bid
325 yen per Aozora share, a premium of 17.8 percent on Aozora's
closing price of 276 yen on Monday. [ID:nT134657]
($1=103.50 Yen)
(Reporting by Aiko Hayashi, Editing by Michael Watson)