TOKYO, Oct 28 (Reuters) - The following stocks are on the move on Monday.
**SONY SLIGHTLY HIGHER AHEAD OF Q2 EARNINGS**
Electronics and entertainment conglomerate Sony Corp up 1.3 percent or 70 yen at 5,460, outperforming a 1.46 percent fall in the Nikkei average ahead of Sony's earnings results due for release after the close of trade.
Sony is expected to post strong results for the last quarter and keep its full-year targets intact. Sony is marking a banner year in its movie division, while its PlayStation 2 is in peak profit-earning form and corporate reforms are cutting costs.
Richard Chu, an analyst at ING Securities, said he expects Sony to beat the consensus forecast for a consolidated operating profit around 50 billion yen ($400 million) for the July-September quarter. Sony will also give an updated outlook for the full year to March. 0200 GMT **YODOGAWA STEEL UP ON JP MORGAN UPGRADE**
Yodogawa Steel Works Ltd up 7.84 percent or 20 yen at 275 after JP Morgan raised its rating on the maker of surface-treated steel sheets to "overweight" from "neutral", traders said.
Yodogawa was the second-biggest percentage gainer on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. 0200 GMT
**ITO-YOKADO DOWN, RETAIL SALES DATA WEIGHS**
Top retailing group Ito-Yokado Co Ltd down 0.53 percent at 3,730 yen following bearish retail sales data for September. Ito-Yokado's convenience store unit Seven-Eleven Japan Co Ltd down 2.64 percent at 3,320 yen.
Before the open of trade, government data showed retail sales in Japan fell 3.0 percent in September from a year earlier, racking up the 18th straight month of year-on-year decline, and a steeper fall than the 2.1 percent decline recorded in August.
Ito-Yokado's shares fell as low as 3,630 yen during morning trade, just 120 yen above a year-to-date low.
"The outlook for the second half is very unclear given such poor data. Selling is picking up even on winners in the sector like Ito-Yokado," said a trader at a mid-tier brokerage. 0200 GMT **TOYODA GOSEI HITS 2002 HIGH AHEAD OF EARNINGS**
Car parts and high-tech components maker Toyoda Gosei Co up 2.54 percent at 2,620 yen after marking a year-to-date high of 2,660 yen on expectations it will raise its full-year earnings forecasts when it unveils first-half results later in the day.
Earlier in the month, Toyoda Gosei revised up its forecasts for the first half ended September 30 thanks to brisk auto exports and demand for light-emitting diodes used in cellphones.
The company left its full-year forecasts unchanged. 0130 GMT
**BANKS FALL ON CAUTION AHEAD OF POLICY PACKAGE**
Banking shares down, reversing course after Friday's gains amid investor caution ahead of a government package scheduled for Wednesday that will focus on cleaning up the nation's bad-loan problem and could significantly hurt banks' capital.
Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group down 1.61 percent at 792,000 yen, Mizuho Holdings Inc down 3.07 percent at 158,000, and UFJ Holdings Inc down 3.16 percent at 153,000 after the previous session's rise of 1.3 percent.
"Investors are waiting for the package, so there's not heavy selling (in banking shares). Bank stocks are falling in line with the futures market," said Terushi Hirotama, head of trading at Ichiyoshi Securities. "The lack of support from bank heads for the package seems to be weighing on bank shares, though."
Japan's chief banking regulator, Heizo Takenaka, met again on Monday morning with heads of the country's top banks. Banks have expressed opposition to some of his proposals that could slash their capital and lead to another infusion of public funds. 0120 GMT **BENESSE DOWN BY LIMIT ON PROFIT WARNING**
Benesse Corp down by its daily limit of 300 yen or 17.75 percent at 1,390 yen on the Osaka Securities Exchange.
After the market closed on Friday, Japan's biggest provider of distant-learning courses cut its full-year group recurring profit forecast to 11.4 billion yen ($91.71 million) from 20.8 billion previously. Benesse also lowered its net profit forecast to five billion yen for the year to March, down from 11.2 billion. 0115 GMT
**ITX TUMBLES 12 PCT AFTER SLASHING H1 FORECAST**
ITX Corp down 11.94 percent or 16,000 yen at 118,000 after the info-tech unit of trading company Nissho Iwai Corp slashed its earnings forecast on Friday.
After the close on Friday, ITX said it expects to have made a group net profit of 500 million yen ($4.02 million) for the six months ended September 2002, compared to its initial projection for net profit of 2.20 billion.
Sales are seen at 163.10 billion for the half year, down from a previous estimate of 180 billion. 0045 GMT **ISUZU MOTORS DOWN ON PROFIT-TAKING AFTER 27 PCT SURGE**
Isuzu Motors Ltd down 12.77 percent or 6 yen at 41, hit by profit-taking after the truckmaker's shares soared 27 percent on Friday due to a media report Isuzu had won final agreement from its banks and partner General Motors Corp for an aid package including about $800 million in debt-equity swaps.
Isuzu confirmed the report on Friday after the close, but also slashed earnings forecasts, saying it now expected to fall deep into the red for the fourth straight year due to restructuring losses and would quit its U.S. sports utility vehicles (SUV) joint venture to focus on core operations.
Isuzu's shares were the most active by volume on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. 0030 GMT
**FANUC UP FOR 4TH DAY ON HIGHER EARNINGS FORECAST**
Fanuc Ltd up 2.65 percent at 5,040 yen, rising for the fourth straight session after the firm said on Friday it posted a small rise in half-year group net profit and raised its full-year forecasts on strong sales of its robotic factory equipment.
Fanuc, the world's largest maker of industrial robots, said group net profit rose 4.1 percent to 19.6 billion yen ($157.7 million) for the six months ended in September despite a 17 percent fall in revenue from a sharp decline in sales for factory automation equipment.
For the full-year to March, it revised up full-year group net profit estimates to 37 billion from an earlier 21.8 billion yen forecast. Fanuc also raised its 2002/03 sales forecast by 13.1 percent to 207 billion yen.
Fanuc's shares have now gained 13 percent in four trading days including Monday, outperforming the Nikkei average , which has given up about four percent. 0025 GMT **DAIWA UP AFTER HI PROFIT RISE, NIKKO UNCHANGED**
Daiwa Securities Group Inc up 2.86 percent or 15 yen at 540 after Japan's second-biggest brokerage unveiled on Friday a solid rise in first-half recurring profit as cost-cutting benefits helped partially ease the pain of a moribund stock market.
Daiwa's group recurring profit -- which excludes extraordinary items and is a key gauge of the health of brokerages' mainstay operations -- totalled 15.57 billion yen ($125.3 million) for the period, compared to 1.18 billion yen profit a year earlier.
Third-ranked Nikko Cordial Corp unchanged at 518 yen after it posted a recurring profit of 29.61 billion yen for the half year compared to 693 million yen a year ago, helped by a 15 billion yen gain from deals linked with the establishment of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) worth 1.1 trillion yen. 0010 GMT ($1=124.29 yen)