* Nikkei at 1-mth low, marks 2-mth trough at one point
* Riots in Egypt prompt investors to move out of equities
* Yen at 1-mth high vs dollar, knocks exporters
* Nikkei may target 200-day moving average of 9,871-analyst
* Fujitsu, Konica Minolta slide after cutting annual outlooks
By Antoni Slodkowski and Ayai Tomisawa
TOKYO, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei hit a two month low
at one point on Monday as anti-government rioting in Egypt
prompted investors to shun riskier assets, with analysts adding
that the blow to sentiment comes at a time when the benchmark
appeared due for a correction.
Disappointing earnings outlooks from Fujitsu <6702.T> and
Konica Minolta <4902.T> also dragged the Nikkei lower, while the
yen hovering at four weeks high versus the greenback provided
additional pressure.
But oil-related stocks like Japan's top oil explorer Inpex
<1605.T> gained as Brent crude surged to a 28-month peak near
$100 a barrel on worries that the unrest in Egypt could spread
and disrupt oil shipments through the Suez Canal.
The Nikkei has gained some 11 percent since early November as
foreigners piled into lagging Tokyo equities, but market players
say that bull-run could be drawing to a close, despite
expectations of strong October-December results overall from
Japanese corporations.
Over the past three sessions, foreigners, who stand for over
60 percent of all investors in Tokyo, have placed net sell orders
before the market opened.
"As you can see in pre-market foreign sell orders over the
past few days, there have been changes in foreign sentiment
towards Japanese stocks," said Yoshinori Nagano, a senior
strategist at Daiwa Asset Management.
By midafternoon the benchmark Nikkei <> had lost 1.1
percent, or 112.07 points, to 10,248.60. It hit its lowest level
since Dec. 3 at one point, but recouped some of its losses later.
The broader Topix <> shed 0.9 percent to 911.17.
"Momentum has been falling... and in the short term it has
broken the support of the 50-day moving average (of 10,277) and
is looking to test the 200-day moving average at 9,871," said
Jamie Coutts, a technical analyst at BGC Securities.
EARNINGS IN FOCUS
This week marks the peak for October-December earnings season
with investors awaiting signs of sustained recovery in results of
economic bellwethers such as Sony Corp <6758.T> and Japan's
biggest bank by assets Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group <8306.T>.
Fujitsu Ltd tumbled 6.8 percent to 508 yen after Japan's
largest IT vendor slashed its full-year operating profit forecast
by more than a fifth, below expectations, as persistent weak
demand for its data centres and other services defied
expectations for a rebound. []
Konica Minolta Holdings dived 7 percent to 799 yen after the
maker of film used in liquid-crystal displays also slashed its
full-year operating profit forecast 10 percent to 45 billion yen,
below a consensus estimate for a 50.9 billion yen.
"Egypt is a big factor for some sectors, but overall the
market has also wanted to snap up gains, especially Japanese
institutional investors -- they do that every year around
February, before reporting earnings in March," said Hiroaki
Osakabe, a fund manager at Chibagin Asset Management.
A wider conflagration in the Middle East could threaten the
flow of oil at a time when policymakers in emerging markets are
already bedevilled by high food and fuel prices and some
developed economies are gaining momentum. []
"Market is also focusing this week on U.S. private employment
figures out on Wednesday and whether China does more monetary
tightening before the Lunar New Year holiday that also starts on
the same day," said Osakabe.
He added that if any of these bring any negative news the
Nikkei may see more sell-offs and head towards the
psychologically sensitive line of 10,000.
Among oil-related stocks, Inpex gained 0.9 percent to 528,000
yen and JX Holdings <5020.T> added 0.7 percent to 555 yen.
(Editing by Joseph Radford)
