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Japan Hot Stocks-Toho, Nikko Cordial, Mitsui OSK

TOKYO, March 24 (Reuters) - The following stocks are on the move on Monday. **TOHO UP AFTER 'SPIRITED AWAY' TAKES OSCAR**

Toho Co Ltd up 4.0 percent at 1,119 yen after Japan's biggest film distributor's "Spirited Away," directed by the legendary Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki, won the Oscar for best animated feature at the Academy Awards on Sunday.

"Spirited Away", the story of a 10-year-old girl's ghostly adventures, smashed box-office records in Japan and gained limited distribution in the United States in a dubbed version through Walt Disney Co . 0347 GMT **NIKKO CORDIAL DOWN ON PROFIT-TAKING**

Nikko Cordial Corp down 3.51 percent at 357 yen, hit by profit-taking after its stock had rebounded around 18 percent from a four-year low of 314 struck last Monday.

Last Tuesday, Japan's financial watchdog said it had ordered Nikko Salomon Smith Barney, a joint venture between Nikko Cordial and Citigroup Inc , to suspend stock trading on its account for 20 business days as a penalty for manipulating stock prices.

The penalty was lighter than expected, but worries remain about the effect of the penalty on Nikko's image.

Nikko Cordial's shares were underperforming a 1.91 percent climb in the securities sector subindex and was the most active issue by volume on the first section. 0200 GMT **MITSUI OSK , SHIPPERS UP ON RECENT OIL PRICE FALL**

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd, Japan's second-biggest shipping firm, up 3.51 percent at 295 yen on hopes that an easing of crude oil prices will reduce its fuel costs.

U.S. light crude oil is trading at around $27.5 a barrel, more than 30 percent below a peak of almost $40 hit late last month.

But gains in the shipping sector were somewhat muted after oil prices rebounded two percent on Monday as stiff Iraqi opposition to advancing U.S.-led forces undercut hopes for a quick war.

Nippon Yusen KK , Japan's top shipping company, up 1.68 percent at 424 yen. 0143 GMT **TOYO ENGINEERING UP ON IRAQ RECONSTRUCTION HOPES**

Toyo Engineering up 7.74 percent at 181 yen, leading solid gains in a handful of petrochemical plant engineering firms on hopes that post-war reconstruction of Iraq's oilfields will create demand for large-scale projects.

Chiyoda Corp up 6.76 percent at 300 yen. JGC Corp up 2.46 percent at 832 yen. 0114 GMT **NEC RISES AFTER UPBEAT PROFIT REPORT**

NEC Corp up 3.84 percent at 433 yen after a business daily said the tech giant's operating profit would slightly exceed targets for the year to March 31 and improve further next year, aided by cost cuts.

The Nihon Keizai Shimbun said on Friday the company was set to score a 110 billion yen ($908.6 million) consolidated operating profit for 2002/03, better than NEC's latest forecast of 100 billion yen.

However, the paper said that NEC may fall short of its net profit target of 10 billion yen, as the stock market slide had eroded the value of its shareholdings. 0056 GMT

**SQUARE BID-ONLY AFTER RAISING NET FORECAST**

Square Co Ltd bid-only at 1,575 yen, 12.9 percent above the previous close of 1,395 yen after the game software maker raised its group net profit forecast for the year ending March 31 by 140 percent to 11.5 billion yen ($95 million).

Square, which is due to merge with rival Enix Corp in April, cited strong sales of the latest game in its popular "Final Fantasy" series.

Enix up 15.74 percent at 1,927 yen. 0044 GMT **EXPORTERS FOLLOW WALL ST UP AS WAR IN IRAQ GETS UNDER WAY**

Sony Corp up 2.23 percent at 4,580 yen, leading strong gains in exporters after U.S. stocks rose on Friday for the eighth straight session as the war in Iraq got under way.

In the auto sector, Toyota Motor Corp up 2.64 percent at 2,915 yen, leading a 2.81 percent in the transport sector subindex .

Office equipment and camera giant Canon Inc up 4.2 percent at 4,470 yen. Exporters were also cheered by a rise in the dollar to a three-month high of around 121.88 yen on Friday, although the greenback had retreated to around 121.15 yen by mid-morning on Monday. 0029 GMT **ADVANTEST DOWN AFTER DOUBLING NET LOSS FORECAST** Advantest Corp down 0.2 percent at 4,990 yen after Japan's largest maker of microchip testing equipment last week nearly doubled its full-year net loss forecast as a dull economy and uncertainty over war in Iraq took their toll.

The company said it expects a 12 billion yen ($99.1 million) consolidated net loss for the year to March 31, up from a forecast in October of a 6.3 billion yen loss. 0015 GMT ($1=121.06 yen)