TOKYO STOCKS - Factors to watch - Sept 21
TOKYO, Sept 21 (Reuters) - The following are some of the main factors that may influence stock trading in Tokyo on Monday:
The benchmark Nikkei average may weaken as an agreement by ruling and opposition parties on restructuring the financial system appears in jeopardy.
Kansei Nakano, a senior member of the Democratic Party, said on a Sunday talk show that the agreement, which would force shareholders of troubled banks to take a harder hit and temporarily put the Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan under state control, was not a done deal.
The Nikkei will likely fluctuate between 13,800 and 14,100.
OUTLOOK:
''I don't think people believed we had a sure thing,'' said Paul Migliorato, senior salesman at Jardine Fleming Securities, referring to the agreement.
The agreement was reached Friday before Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi left for the United States for meetings with President Bill Clinton.
With the agreement in jeopardy, more emphasis will be placed on the tone of that meeting.
*Traders and investors may continue to focus on Aoyama Trading Co and TDK , both of which have said they have problems with Russian government bond investments they made, Migliorato said. More companies may report similar problems, he said.
''This may be the tip of the iceberg,'' said Migliorato. *Traders will also worry about how the country's weak economy, which has contracted for three quarters, will affect earnings of corporate Japan.
''Slow growth will take its toll on profits,'' said Ryoji Musha, strategist at Deutsche Securities.
*Traders and investors will also wait for the release of Clinton's videotape testimony to a grand jury. If the contents of the tape prove damaging, the president could be distracted from economic policy.
MARKET CLOSINGS ON FRIDAY
*Nikkei 225 average rose 123.98 points, or 0.89 percent, to end at 13,983.12
*Nikkei December futures finished up 150 points to close at 13,950.
*Nikkei 225 December futures traded in Chicago rose 125 points to close at 13,825.
*Dow Jones industrial average was up 21.89 points at
7,895.66.
*Dollar ended in New York at 132.65/75 yen.
STOCKS TO WATCH
Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan. The bank will write-off
hundreds of billions of yen in bad loans to prepare for a merger with Sumitomo Trust & Banking , according to weekend media reports.
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