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Japan Hot Stocks-Synclayer, Sparx Asset Management, Mabuchi

TOKYO, Feb 19 (Reuters) - The following stocks are on the move on Wednesday: **SYNCLAYER OPENS ABOVE IPO PRICE IN JASDAQ DEBUT**

Synclayer Inc first traded at 610 yen, 12.96 percent above its initial public offering (IPO) price of 540 yen in its debut on the Jasdaq market for start-ups.

Synclayer is a construction company specialising in laying cable networks on behalf of cable television operators. 0507 GMT **SPARX ASSET DOWN AFTER 9-MTH PROFITS SLUMP**

Sparx Asset Management Co Ltd down 9.09 percent at 1,000,000 yen after the asset manager said on Tuesday its group net profit in the nine months to December slumped 35.4 percent year-on-year to 457 million yen ($3.80 million). 0445 GMT **MABUCHI MOTOR DOWN ON BEARISH FORECAST**

Mabuchi Motor Co Ltd, the world's biggest micro-motor maker, down 5.61 percent at 9,430 yen after it said on Tuesday that it expected group net profit to fall 5.7 percent year-on-year to 17 billion yen ($141.3 million) in the year to December 2003.

That prompted Goldman Sachs to cut its rating on the stock to "underperform" from "inline". Nomura Securities also cut its rating on the stock. 0421 GMT **ADVANTEST FALLS ON WEAK BOOK-BILL RATIO**

Advantest Corp, Japan's biggest maker of chip-testing equipment, down 1.82 percent at 5,390 yen after North American makers of semiconductor equipment reported a fall in the book-to-bill ratio to 0.92 percent in January, a sign that firms continue to see weakness in the industry

That compared with December's ratio of 0.94 percent, a report from trade group Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International said.

Tokyo Electron , Japan's biggest chip-making equipment producer, down 2.44 percent at 5,590 yen. 0403 GMT **SMFG EXTENDS FALL, PEERS STAY UNDER PRESSURE**

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) down 10,000 yen or 2.92 percent at 333,000, the most active issue by value on the first section.

On Monday, Japan's second-largest bank announced plans to issue an extra 300 billion yen ($2.49 billion) in convertible preferred shares, stoking fears that the dividend burden on these shares could weigh on SMFG's financial standing. The stock has lost 17 percent this week.

The news weighed on shares of other big banks. UFJ Holdings Inc , the smallest of the four megabanks, down 6.59 percent at 156,000 yen and Mizuho Holdings Inc down 3.79 percent at 127,000. 0158 GMT **PILOT DOWN BY LIMIT AFTER PROFIT WARNING**

Pilot Group Holdings Corp, down by its daily 50,000 yen limit, or 11.39 percent, at 389,000 and the biggest percentage loser on the first section.

Japan's biggest manufacturer of writing instruments made a profit warning on Tuesday, saying it expects to post group net profit of 1.08 billion yen ($8.98 million) for calendar 2002, down from its previous forecast of two billion yen in profit. 0112 GMT **THK TUMBLES ON CONVERTIBLE BOND ISSUANCE**

THK Co Ltd down 8.12 percent or 110 yen at 1,249 after the major manufacturer of linear motion systems announced on Tuesday that it would issue 20 billion yen of euro-denominated convertible bonds that mature in 2008.

If converted, the bonds would dilute per-share value. 0047 GMT **KYOTO KIMONO HITS RECORD LOW ON PROFIT WARNING** Kyoto Kimono Yuzen Co Ltd down 9.05 percent at a record low of 211,000 yen after the kimono retailer said on Tuesday it expects a group net profit of 1.24 billion yen ($10.31 million) in the year to March, down from an earlier forecast of 1.65 billion yen.

It cut its sales forecast to 14.74 billion yen from 15.47 billion yen. 0030 GMT **BLUE-CHIP TECHS, AUTO STOCKS UP ON WALL STREET RALLY**

Canon Inc and other blue-chip tech and auto exporters higher after gains in technology bellwethers such as Intel Corp and Microsoft Corp helped push the U.S. Nasdaq index up 2.78 percent on Tuesday.

Honda Motor Co Ltd , Japan's second-largest automaker, up 1.17 percent at 4,310 yen, electronics giant Hitachi Ltd up 1.7 percent at 539 yen and camera and office equipment maker Canon up 2.61 percent at 4,330 yen. 0015 GMT **SHIMANO UP ON SHARE BUY-BACK, SOLID EARNINGS**

Shimano Inc up 3.51 percent or 59 yen at 1,740 after the bicycle parts and fishing tackle maker said on Tuesday that it would buy back about 8.9 percent or up to 25 billion yen ($207.8 million) worth of its outstanding shares.

Separately on Tuesday, Shimano posted a group net profit of 8.06 billion yen for 2002, a 42.6 percent rise. Sales rose 7.3 percent to 134.71 billion yen and Shimano said they would increase to 137 billion yen in the current year. ($1=120.32 yen)