Tokyo shares likely to be rangebound

Tokyo share prices are likely to move in a small range over the coming week as investors look for trading pegs by watching Japanese corporate earnings, US data and currency rates, brokers said. In the holiday-shortened week to May 6, the benchmark Nikkei index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange edged up 0.1 percent, or 9.46 points, to close at 9,859.20.
The Topix index of all first section shares rose 0.55 percent or 4.65 points to 856.50. When trading resumes market players "will look for direction while share prices move in a range around the 9,800 level," said Kazuhiro Takahashi, general manager at Daiwa Securities Capital Markets.
Toyota's results are due out on Wednesday, followed by Nissan's on Thursday with big banks set to announce on Friday.
Takahashi said corporate results and outlooks could give a cue for fresh buying while risk factors include a strong yen relative to the dollar and euro, which damages Japanese exports.
In the week just ended, the dollar briefly fell below 80 yen for the first time in seven weeks.
Hiroyuki Fukunaga, Investrust chief executive officer, told Dow Jones Newswires that the Nikkei would lack a clear direction from domestic factors until late June, when companies that had withheld forecasts may give guidance near the quarter's end.
Shares in Tokyo Electric Power Co at the centre of Japan's worst ever nuclear accident, gained 7.06 percent during the week to close at 455 yen, a rise of 35 percent from a record low close of 337 yen on April 6.
Sony shares ended the week at 2,262 yen, almost unchanged from 2,260 yen a week earlier.
The stock dropped 2.80 percent on May 6 after the company reported that cyber assaults on its online videogame network were broader than first thought, with intruders possibly making off with credit and debit card data.