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Japan Hot Stocks-Hitachi, Toppan Printing, Mazda, Wowow

**SANYO ELECTRIC DOWN AFTER NOMURA DOWNGRADE**

Sanyo Electric Co Ltd down 4.96 percent at 326 yen after Nomura Securities cut its rating on the stock to "4" from "3", expecting it to now underperform the TOPIX index by five to 15 percentage points over the next six months.

On Tuesday, Japan's third-largest electronics maker posted a 62 percent fall in the half year ended September to 2.46 billion yen, hit by hefty restructuring costs in its home appliance and industrial machinery divisions. 0200 GMT **PROPERTY BUSINESS STOCKS DOWN ON SOFTER BAD LOAN PLAN**

Real estate investment and services firms such as Recrm Research Co Ltd and Kennedy-Wilson Japan came under pressure after the government's plans for accelerated bad loan disposal released on Wednesday were less harsh than expected.

Recrm Research down 4.63 percent or 5,000 yen at 103,000 yen on the Jasdaq market for start-up firms, while Kennedy-Wilson Japan, a unit of Kennedy-Wilson Inc of the United States, fell 4.76 percent or 14,000 yen to 280,000 yen.

Both Recrm and Kennedy-Wilson had risen following the appointment of reform-minded Heizo Takenaka as Financial Services Minister. Investors hoped Takenaka would speed up bad loan disposal, leading to a more liquid real estate market. 0155 GMT **HITACHI CONSTRUCTION UP ON IMPROVING EARNINGS**

Hitachi Construction Machinery Co Ltd up 7.49 percent or 39 yen at 560 after the maker of hydraulic shovels said on Wednesday it recorded a group net profit of 1.84 billion yen for the first half, compared to a loss of 7.51 billion yen in the same period last year.

For the full year to March, Hitachi Construction boosted its group net profit forecast to 3 billion yen from an earlier estimate of 2 billion yen thanks to lower fixed costs and other restructuring efforts.

Hitachi Construction has suffered from declining sales in the domestic market but its sales to China are booming. 0140 GMT **COLUMBIA MUSIC PLUNGES AFTER FORECASTING RED INK**

Columbia Music Entertainment Inc down 11.94 percent at 118 yen after Japan's oldest music label said on Wednesday that it now sees a group net loss of 1.30 billion yen in 2002/03, compared to its original forecast for a 300 million yen profit.

The company, restructuring under the guidance of U.S. investment fund Ripplewood Holdings, appointed director Masao Nakajima as new president in August after the former president Katsumi "Jack" Matsumura died of a heart attack.

The sudden loss of Matsumura, appointed only last October, was seen at the time as a setback for Ripplewood, which has been pushing for restructuring at Columbia -- known formerly as Nippon Columbia before changing its name this month. 0125 GMT **ADVANTEST UP, BIGGER LOSS FORECAST DOESN'T HURT**

Chip equipment maker Advantest Corp up 6.77 percent at 4,100 yen despite its announcement on Wednesday that it now sees a group net loss of 6.3 billion yen ($51.24 million) for the year to March, bigger than its prior loss estimate of 3.3 billion yen.

Advantest said it would step up restructuring by cutting about 13 percent of its group workforce. Investors were thus not put off by the downward revision and instead focused on its decision to keep its sales forecast unchanged, analysts said.

"The company is still expecting revenue growth in the second half and is talking relatively bullishly about memory tester sales specifically," said Merrill Lynch analyst Richard Kaye.

He added that favourable pricing for double data rate (DDR) DRAMs was another factor helping Advantest and the whole sector.

Tokyo Electron Ltd up 3.73 percent at 5,010 yen, chasing a 6.57 percent rally in Philadelphia's semiconductor index following bullish comments by International Business Machines Corp and strong quarterly results from U.S. semiconductor companies. 0110 GMT **TOYO TIRE & RUBBER SOARS AFTER RAISING HI FORECAST**

Toyo Tire & Rubber Co Ltd up 8.81 percent at 210 yen after Japan's fourth-largest tyre maker said on Wednesday it now sees a group net profit of 2.20 billion yen ($17.89 million) for the first half, compared to its previous estimate for a profit of 200 million yen.

It was the second biggest gainer by percentage on the main board. 0045 GMT **PIONEER UP AFTER SOLID HI, FULL-YEAR FORECAST HIKE**

Pioneer Corp up 4.42 percent at 2,125 yen after reporting a 32 percent rise in group operating profit for the first half thanks to brisk sales of flat-panel plasma display televisions and car navigation equipment.

Robust sales of ultra-thin plasma display panel (PDP) televisions and DVD home theatre systems overseas helped Pioneer, one of Japan's top five consumer electronics makers, generate a 9.8 percent rise in half-year revenues to 333.29 billion yen.

For the full year to March, Pioneer raised its group net profit forecast by 13.7 percent to 12.5 billion yen, although its sales target of 720 billion yen was left unchanged. 0035 GMT **MAZDA JUMPS AFTER ANNOUNCING TO REVISE EARNINGS**

Japan's fifth-largest automaker Mazda Motor Corp up 3.01 percent or 8 yen at 274, jumping after saying it would hold a news conference at 10:30 a.m. (0130 GMT) to announce a revision to its earnings forecast. It gave no further details.

Mazda, one-third owned by Ford Motor Co , in May had forecast a 79 percent rise in operating profit to 51 billion yen for the year to March 2003.

Mazda rivals Toyota Motor Corp , Honda Motor Co Ltd and Nissan Motor Co Ltd have all unveiled record-setting first-half earnings results this month. 0027 GMT **BANK STOCKS UP AS HARD LANDING SCENARIO RECEDES**

Bank stocks up after the government's anti-deflation package, released after the close of trade on Wednesday, called for accelerated bad loan disposal from banks but shied away from putting a time target on the implementation of one key provision.

The report failed to give a specific time frame for a step to limit the amount of deferred tax assets, a kind of tax break, used by banks as part of their capital base. That could have hurt many banks' capital and opened the way for public funds.

UFJ Holdings Inc up 8.0 percent at 189,000 yen, extending the previous session's 13 percent climb. Mizuho Holdings Inc up 6.29 percent at 186,000 yen, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp up 6.02 percent at 528 yen. 0017 GMT ($1=122.93 yen)