(Corrects historical comparison in bullet points and
paragraph 10)
(Adds stocks, details)
*Nikkei takes aim at 11th day of losses, longest since 1954
*Carmakers down as U.S. economic gloom grows
*Eyes on U.S. jobs data
By Elaine Lies
TOKYO, July 3 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei stock average edged
down 0.1 percent on Thursday, taking aim at an 11-day losing
streak -- its longest in more than half a century -- as high oil
prices and fears about the global economy led exporters such as
Toyota Motor Co <7203.T> lower.
Trading houses such as Mitsubishi Corp <8058.T> were sold as
investors moved to take profits, and shippers extended losses,
though the market's slide was braked as the dollar edged higher
and short-covering emerged.
In a rare bright spot, Sanyo Electric Co Ltd <6764.T>, the
world's largest maker of rechargeable batteries, surged after
saying it plans to build a new lithium-ion battery plant in
western Japan by early to mid 2009, in its latest step to focus
resources on core operations. []
"Sentiment is simply very bad. There's just way too much
uncertainty about where things go from here," said Yutaka Miura,
senior technical analyst at Shinko Securities.
"The market has fallen for ten days, and there's a sense
that at some point it should stop and recover a bit. But nobody
wants to buy."
The Dow <> sank into a bear market after it closed 20
percent below its October peak on Wednesday, hit by growing
warnings of further bank losses, inflation fears and slumping
consumer confidence.
Concern is growing that record high oil prices and rising
raw materials costs will have a negative impact on Japanese
company earnings. Many companies are set to announce
first-quarter earnings over the coming weeks.
"There's no real sense of investors being poised to buy,
especially since it appears that many Japanese companies may
revise their earnings forecasts downwards, when originally they
were expected to show profit rises," said Takahiko Murai,
general manager of equities at Nozomi Securities.
Many investors were sidelined and waiting for key U.S. jobs
data due out later on Thursday.
The benchmark Nikkei <> pared earlier losses to shed
9.19 points, standing at 13,277.18 by midsession. If it finishes
the day down, this would be the longest losing streak since a
15-day stretch in 1954.
The broader Topix <> was down 0.4 percent at 1,295.93.
CARS AND TRADERS
The market's slide was slowed by short-covering that emerged
as the dollar edged higher against the yen. By 0209 GMT it was
fetching around 106 yen <JPY=> and helping some exporters gain.
A strong yen eats into profits when they are repatriated to
Japan and also makes Japanese goods less competitive overseas.
Adding to woes for carmakers already hit by sluggish U.S.
consumption and thickening economic clouds was Merrill Lynch's
downgrade of General Motors <GM.N>, saying the automaker will
need $15 billion to shore up liquidity and that bankruptcy was
"not impossible," sending the company's shares tumbling.
Though the downgrade didn't have a direct impact on Japanese
firms, it didn't help either, said Nozomi's Murai.
Toyota was down 1 percent to 4,890 yen and Honda Motor Co
<7267.T> pared earlier losses to edge down by 0.8 percent to
3,520 yen.
Trading houses were sold despite sharply despite oil hitting
a new record high on Wednesday <CLc1>, with dealers moving to
lock in profits after a slight rebound earlier this week.
Mitsubishi Corp <8058.T>, Japan's largest trading house,
slid 3.3 percent to 3,490 yen, with fellow traders Mitsui & Co
<8031.T> down 2.7 percent at 2,330 yen and Itochu Corp <8001.T>
shedding 2.3 percent to 1,113 yen.
Shippers, hit by high oil and lower freight rates, extended
losses, with Nippon Yusen KK <9101.T>, Japan's largest shipping
firm, down 1.5 percent at 966 yen and Mitsui OSK Lines <9104.T>
down 1.1 percent at 1,421 yen.
Trade picked up on the Tokyo exchange's first section, with
1.1 billion shares changing hands, compared with last week's
morning average of 848 million. Declining stocks beat advancing
ones by a ratio of 3 to 1.
(Reporting by Elaine Lies; editing by Sophie Hardach)
