Japanese stocks may drop on concern government measures next week to boost prices won't be enough to lift benchmark indexes, some investors said.
The prime minister will announce the government's plan to rejuvenate the world's second-largest economy on Sept. 19 or 20.
Measures may include using public money to buy stocks and cutting taxes by Japanese yen 2.5 trillion (US$21 billion).
The package won't help "until the problems in the banking sector are sorted out properly, and that looks as far away as ever," said Paul Chesson, who manages US$1.6 billion in Japanese equities at Perpetual Investment Management Co in the UK. It recently raised its cash holdings, he said.
Regional exporters such as Samsung Electronics Co, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (
In Hong Kong, a government report on Tuesday may show that the city's jobless rate climbed to a record in August. That might push down shares of developers including Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd, as demand for offices and apartments is dependent on the economy's performance.
Australian oil producers such as BHP Billiton and gold miners such as Newcrest Mining Ltd may gain as some investors anticipate a possible attack on Iraq will boost prices of commodities.
Advantest Corp, the third most heavily weighted stock in the Nikkei 225 Stock Average, may slump. The world's biggest maker of equipment used to produce computer memory chips said Friday that it expects to lose money in the year ending March, instead of its earlier target of breaking even.
Japan's key benchmarks gained for their first week in three.
The Nikkei rose 1.2 percent to 9241.93, while the broader Topix index advanced 1.6 percent to 908.41. Chemical makers and real estate shares were the two best group performers on the TOPIX, while telecommunications were the worst performers.
Japanese markets will be closed on Monday for a public holiday.
Banks such as Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, which have been the worst performers in the past year, may decline on concern falling stock prices and the worsening economy will hamper their efforts to write off an estimated 52 trillion yen in bad loans.
Financial Affairs Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa said on Friday the financial watchdog doesn't have any new plans to support the market. The Nikkei plunged to a 19-year low on Sept. 4 and now stands about 166 points above that level.
"I don't expect too much from these packages," said Hakan Hedstrom, who manages about US$1 billion in Japanese equities as head of investment at Commerz International Capital Management (Japan) Ltd.
Hedstrom lowered his weighting in Japanese equities to "underweight" at the beginning of the month. He favors utility stocks, which are less likely to be affected by sluggish economic growth.
US indicators expected next week include industrial production and housing starts for August. Industrial production is likely to have risen 0.2 percent in August, the same pace as in July, according to a median of 22 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.
A University of Michigan survey on friday showed that US consumer confidence declined in September for a fourth straight month to the lowest level since November. The sentiment index dropped to 86.2 from a final reading of 87.6 in August.
"I won't buy stocks next week if I don't see improved signs of a US economic recovery," said Lee Jae-hyun, who overseas US$322 million in Korean assets at KEB Commerz Investment Trust Management Co.
Korean Air Co, the nation's largest carrier, may decline on concern the increasing risk of war between the US and Iraq may inflate fuel prices, hurting its profit.
An industry report on Thursday from Semiconductor Equipment & Materials International will also allow investors to gauge when profits at chip-related companies such as Tokyo Electron Ltd and Advantest may recover.
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