Skip navigation
Newswire

Japan Hot Stocks-Nikkei 225 candidates, Nippon Meat

TOKYO, Aug 30 (Reuters) - The following stocks are on the move on Friday. **NIKKEI 225 CANDIDATES UP AHEAD OF COMPONENT RESHUFFLE**

Shares in companies seen by analysts with a chance of being added to the benchmark Nikkei share average are up.

Two or more issues are expected to be added in an annual review of the Nikkei's constituents, due to be announced in September.

Candidates include computer game maker Sega Corp , up 2.9 percent at 2,835 yen, and rival Konami Co Ltd , up 2.72 percent at 2,830 yen, rising for the third straight session.

Information services firm CSK Corp , up 3.67 percent at 4,240 yen, and virus-busting software maker Trend Micro Inc , up 1.99 percent at 3,080 yen, are also candidates.

Many fund managers are expected to buy newly added issues after the September review, allowing speculators who buy in advance to take profits on the gains. 0509 GMT **NIPPON MEAT DOWN ON FRESH RELABELLING ALLEGATIONS**

Nippon Meat Packers Inc down 57 yen or 5.8 percent at 925 yen.

Shares took a beating after the TBS television network reported on Thursday that the company may be relabelling unsold processed food goods with extended use-by dates.

A company spokesman said the report was untrue.

The TBS report came just weeks after Nippon Meat admitted to relabelling beef in order to receive government subsidies, prompting major supermarkets to pull its products from the shelves and sending its shares into a tail spin.

The shares have lost 38 percent this month.

0408 GMT **TOKYO LEASING, OTHERS UP AHEAD OF MOVE TO FIRST SECTION**

Tokyo Leasing Co Ltd up 4.1 percent or 34 yen at 864 ahead of its move to the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange from the second section on Monday.

Tokyo Leasing will then join the TOPIX index of first section issues, which can be expected to lure a wider range of investors to the leasing firm's shares.

Among the other 11 stocks going to the first section, Haruyama Trading Co Ltd up 0.08 percent at 1,326 yen, and Nichii Gakkan Co up 3.91 percent at 6,650 yen after Thursday's 9.4 percent dive due to an issuance of new shares. 0410 GMT

**ALPS ELECTRIC OUTPERFORMS ON REPORT TO BEAT FORECAST**

Electronics components maker Alps Electric Co Ltd up 0.74 percent at 1,370 yen, outperforming a broad market fall on a newspaper report it would beat its profit estimate for the first half and full business year, a trader said.

Buoyed by robust sales from PC-use magnetic heads and game machines parts, Alps Electric is seen posting a 270 percent jump in group operating profit to 19 billion yen for the half year to September, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said on Friday. That is 35 percent better than the company's initial forecast.

Alps Electric's stock had jumped 3.4 percent in the previous session after Deutsche Securities raised its rating on the issue, citing in part lessening concerns about a slowdown in GMR (Giant Magneto-Resistive) head operations due to better demand for heads used in Toshiba Corp's 2.5-inch hard disk drives. 0340 GMT **BOSCH AUTOMOTIVE UP AFTER RETURNING TO BLACK**

Bosch Automotive Systems Corp, a car-parts maker affiliated to Robert Bosch of Germany, jumped 3.57 percent to 145 yen.

That compares with a 0.79 percent fall in the transport equipment subindex .

The company late on Thursday posted a group operating profit of 4.11 billion yen ($34.76 million) for the January-June period, compared with a loss of 1.57 billion yen a year earlier. 0150 GMT **TEPCO DOWN ON NUCLEAR PLANT FALSE REPORT CLAIMS**

Tokyo Electric Power Co Inc (TEPCO) down 2.4 percent at 2,440 yen, the most actively traded issue by value on the Tokyo bourse's main board.

Shares in Japan's top power utility came under pressure after the nation's nuclear power watchdog said after the close of trade on Thursday the firm may have made false reports on cracks found at nuclear power plants from the late 1980s through the 1990s.

TEPCO said it was investigating 29 cases in which "there is a possibility inappropriate measures were taken," and that it would complete an internal investigation by mid-September. 0042 GMT **ARAI-GUMI SURGES, TO BRIEF ON BUSINESS PLAN**

Arai-Gumi Ltd up 12.73 percent at 62 yen, the second-biggest percentage gainer on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's first section.

The struggling mid-sized contractor said on Friday morning that it would announce a business improvement plan at 10:30 a.m. (0130 GMT) as media reports swirl about a possible rescue package from its creditors.

The general contractor said it also planned to unveil mid-year earnings results at that time, but declined to comment on a support package from its main banks.

Shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp , Arai-Gumi's main creditor bank, down 0.65 percent at 610 yen, compared with a 0.15 percent rise in the banking subindex . 0040 GMT **SUMITOMO RUBBER UP ON SOLID H1 EARNINGS**

Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd up 2.57 percent at 519 yen.

Japan's third-largest tyremaker said on Thursday it posted a group net profit of 3.2 billion yen ($27.06 million) in the January to June period, rebounding from a net loss a year earlier thanks to strong exports to the U.S., a weak yen, and cost cuts. 0015 GMT ($1=118.24 yen)