TOKYO, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei is likely to slide
on Thursday following an overnight plunge on Wall Street, while a
firmer yen and concerns over the weakening global economy are
expected to hurt exporters.

Tokyo Electron Ltd (8035.T: Quote, Profile, Research) and other chip gear makers will
likely be in focus. Orders for Japanese equipment used to make
semiconductors fell 68 percent in October from the same month
last year as chip makers slashed or froze spending, calculations
based on industry data showed on Wednesday. [ID:nT352292]

U.S. stocks fell to their lowest in 5-½ years on Wednesday
as investors girded for a lengthy economic downturn and
automotive executives predicted a far-reaching calamity without a
government lifeline.

"The Nikkei is likely to fall near 7,800 in early trade after
Nikkei futures dropped in Chicago the previous day," said
Norihiro Fujito, general manager of the investment research and
information division at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities.

"One focal point is whether public pension funds buy stocks,
giving support to the market, as they have been doing," Fujito
said.

Nikkei futures traded in Chicago 2NKc1 closed at 7,865 on
Wednesday, 405 points below their close in Osaka JNIc1.

Market participants expect the benchmark Nikkei .N225 to
trade between 7,800 and 8,100 on Thursday.

It edged down 0.7 percent on Wednesday to end at 8,273.22.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2308 GMT ------------

INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 .SPX 806.58 -6.12% -52.540
USD/JPY JPY= 95.85 0.01% 0.010
10-YR US TSY YLD US10YT=RR 3.3404 -- 0.000
SPOT GOLD XAU= 735.7 0.39% 2.850
US CRUDE CLc1 53.06 -1.04% -0.570
DOW JONES .DJI 7997.28 -5.07% -427.47
-------------------------------------------------------------
> Wall Street sinks to lowest since 2003 [.N]
> US dollar slips against yen, up versus euro [USD/]
> Bonds rally on ebbing inflation, rate cut bets [US/]
> Gold ends up but off highs; investors opt for cash [GOL/]
> Oil falls to 22-month low on demand, stock build [O/R]
STOCKS TO WATCH

-- Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (8316.T: Quote, Profile, Research)

SMFG will raise at least $2.9 billion in an issue of
preferred securities, becoming the latest Japanese bank to
bolster its capital base amid the financial crisis. [ID:nT328098]

-- Mizuho Financial Group (8411.T: Quote, Profile, Research)

Mizuho, Japan's second-largest bank, is boosting business
with global, non-Japanese firms such as Volvo (VOLVb.ST: Quote, Profile, Research), as the
credit crisis has waylaid many overseas banks, the vice-president
of Mizuho's corporate lending arm said on Wednesday.
[ID:nT352321]

-- Cosmo Oil Co Ltd (5007.T: Quote, Profile, Research)

Japan's fourth-biggest refiner, said on Wednesday it
restarted its 90,000 barrels per day No.5 crude distillation unit
(CDU) at its Yokkaichi refinery earlier in the day after planned
maintenance.

The CDU was originally slated to be restarted on Nov. 15, but
the schedule had been put off due to a slight delay in the
restart of secondary units. The CDU had been shut since Sept. 28.
(Editing by Chris Gallagher)