Japan stocks likely to rise on Fed's liquidity move

TOKYO, March 12 (Reuters) - Japanese stocks look set to rise
on Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve's move to provide
more liquidity to cash-starved credit markets gave a boost to
Wall Street and the dollar.

Still, the Tokyo market is seen moving in a narrow range
after making sharp initial gains, as many investors will likely
wait to see whether the Fed's latest action will have a sustained
effect on financial markets.

"The Fed's move will help ease tight credit conditions at
financial institutions, but it is not something that solves the
real problems," said Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at
Shinko Securities.

In a coordinated effort with other central banks, the Fed
will offer up to $200 billion of highly liquid U.S. Treasuries,
effectively allowing banks to exchange unwanted mortgage notes
for easy-to-sell government securities. [ID:nN11555562]

The dollar rose sharply against the yen to trade around
103.49 yen <JPY=>, well off an eight-year low around 101.40 hit
on Friday.

Tokyo market participants will also be eyeing revised
Japanese gross domestic product data for October-December due out
before the open. Economists forecast an annual clip of 2.3
percent growth, down from 3.7 percent in the initial reading.

The benchmark Nikkei average .N225 is expected to move
between 12,600 and 13,100 on Wednesday.

Nikkei futures traded in Chicago 2NKc1 closed at 13,005 on
Tuesday, up 385 points from their close in Osaka JNIc1.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2254 GMT ------------

INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 .SPX 1320.65 3.71% 47.280
USD/JPY <JPY=> 103.39 -0.06% -0.060
10-YR US TSY YLD <US10YT=RR> 3.5997 -- 0.000
SPOT GOLD <XAU=> 973.4 0.04% 0.400
US CRUDE CLc1 108.45 -0.28% -0.300
DOW JONES .DJI 12156.81 3.55% 416.66
-------------------------------------------------------------
> Wall St soars over 3 percent as Fed adds liquidity [.N]
> Dollar surges vs yen, Swiss franc on credit moves [USD/]
> Bonds fall as Fed unveils new credit bailout [US/]
> Gold ends down after Fed liquidity move [GOL/]
> Oil peaks near $110 before easing on cenbank moves [O/R]
STOCKS TO WATCH

-- KDDI Corp (9433.T: Quote, Profile, Research)

KDDI plans to invest about 30 billion yen to construct or
expand data centres in the U.K., France and Singapore by 2010 to
bolster its business of providing maintenance for corporate
information systems, the Nikkei business daily said on Wednesday.

The newspaper said KDDI will use the centres to handle data
transmissions for Japanese companies and their overseas
operations.

-- Megane Top Co Ltd (7541.T: Quote, Profile, Research)

The eyeglasses shop chain said on Tuesday it planned a
1.2-for-1 share split on April 1, for shareholders as of March
31.
-- Toshiba Machine Co Ltd (6104.T: Quote, Profile, Research)

The firm said it raised its annual dividend forecast to 15
yen per share from 12 yen in an earlier estimate.

It also said it cut its full-year operating profit forecast
by 2.6 percent to 18.5 billion yen due to a slowdown in domestic
demand, but it raised its net profit forecast to 13.5 billion yen
from 12.3 billion yen on the sale of a stake in an affiliate.

-- Resona Holdings (8308.T: Quote, Profile, Research)

Japan's fourth-largest bank is in talks with several parties
about selling its Tokyo headquarters, sources familiar with the
deal said on Tuesday. [ID:nT243242]

-- Komatsu Ltd (6301.T: Quote, Profile, Research)

Komatsu, the world's No. 2 maker of earth-moving equipment,
expects higher sales and profit for the business year starting in
April even if the yen stays at current levels, a company source
told Reuters on Tuesday. [ID:nT230781]

-- Yachiyo Industry Co Ltd (7298.Q: Quote, Profile, Research)

Yachiyo Industry, a Honda Motor Co Ltd (7267.T: Quote, Profile, Research) subsidiary,
said on Tuesday it would invest 50 billion yen ($491 million) to
set up a new minivehicle plant in western Japan.

--NEC Electronics Corp (6723.T: Quote, Profile, Research)

The Japanese microchip maker said on Tuesday that 685
employees have signed up for early retirement, which will bring
the firm an annual savings of 5 billion yen ($49 million).
[ID:nT231795]

-- Yoshinoya Holdings Co (9861.T: Quote, Profile, Research)

Yoshinoya plans to resume selling its beef bowl dish 24 hours
a day by August, the Nikkei business daily reported on Wednesday.

Yoshiynoya had been selling beef bowls for limited hours due
to a limited supply of U.S. beef.

-- OKWave (3808.NG: Quote, Profile, Research)

Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Tuesday it would invest
260.13 million yen in Question-and-Answer Web site operator
OKWave (3808.NG: Quote, Profile, Research), aiming to shore up its online services in
Japan.

The U.S. software giant will become OKWave's No. 3
stakeholder with a 10.52 percent stake, after it buys 9,000
shares for 28,903 yen each in an April third-party share issue.

That represents a 12 percent discount from OKWave's closing
share price of 33,000 yen on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Chris Gallagher)