*Nikkei falls 5.3 pct, hits 2-wk closing low
*Grim forecasts from Best Buy, Intel weigh on tech exporters
*Two major glass makers slide after cartel fines (Adds stocks, details)
By Aiko Hayashi
TOKYO, Nov 13 (Reuters) - The Nikkei average slid 5.3 percent to a two-week closing low on Thursday, with high-tech exporters such as Sony Corp (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) hit by a firmer yen and worries about their earnings prospects after a top U.S. electronics chain issued a profit warning.
Nippon Sheet Glass (5202.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Asahi Glass (5201.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) tumbled after the European Commission imposed its highest ever cartel penalty on Wednesday, fining them and other companies more than 1.3 billion euros ($1.62 billion). [ID:nT5601]
Mizuho Financial Group (8411.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) came under pressure after Japan's No.2 bank said it will raise funds to replenish a capital base hit by the global credit crisis and overexposure to domestic stocks. Japanese media said it could seek as much as $3.2 billion. [ID:nT202479]
"In various sectors, earnings prospects for this business year and the next are grim, and the market appears to be in a tug of war between that and the valuation of stocks in the mid to long term," said Junichi Misawa, a senior fund manager at STB Asset Management.
"But as far as share prices go, I don't see a huge crumbling of the supply and demand balance today, compared to times when short-term selling pressure inflated market volatility."
In light trade, the benchmark Nikkei .N225 shed 456.87 points to end at 8,238.64, falling for a third straight day and its lowest close since Oct. 29. The broader Topix .TOPX declined 4.3 percent to 837.53.
The dollar was trading around 95.60 yen
Market analysts said uncertainty about financial measures by the U.S. government also helped weigh on the market.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the Treasury's focus now would be on shoring up financial institutions with direct investments, comments that served to underscore the extent of the problems in the U.S. economy. [ID:nN12267400]
CONSUMER ELECTRONICS TUMBLE
Consumer electronics makers tumbled after U.S. chain Best Buy (BBY.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) slashed its forecast, saying consumers were cutting back on spending amid the deepening economic crisis in one of the biggest destinations for Japanese goods.
The news came on the heels of Circuit City Stores Inc CCTYQ.PK filing for bankruptcy protection.
Sony lost 8.7 percent to 2,000 yen, while Canon Inc (7751.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) shed 6.3 percent to 2,850 yen and Panasonic Corp (6752.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) dropped 7.4 percent to 1,382 yen.
Adding to the woes of electronics firms was a shock profit warning from U.S. tech bellwether Intel Corp (INTC.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which cut its fourth-quarter revenue forecast by 14 percent and said demand is weak in all market segments and locations. [ID:nN12310791]
Asahi Glass slid 5 percent to 515 yen and Nippon Sheet Glass tumbled 9 percent to 314 yen. An analyst said the fines would have little impact on earnings of the two firms as they had largely allowed for the penalties in their accounts.
Mizuho slid 6.6 percent to 254,500 yen, while top lender Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) fell 3.7 percent to 592 yen.
"There are worries about a possible worsening in the near-term supply and demand balance," said Shinichiro Matsushita, an analyst for Daiwa Securities Co Ltd.
"It's a very good thing for the longer term but leads to dilution worries for people concerned about the short term."
In a sign of the pain being felt across Japan's corporate sector, Dentsu Inc (4324.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the nation's largest advertising company, lost 7.5 percent to 153,300 yen after it cut its annual profit outlook by 20 percent on Wednesday. [ID:nT164284]
Shares of Asatsu-DK Inc (9747.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) fell 6.1 percent to 2,220 yen after Japan's third-largest advertising firm more than halved its full-year net profit forecast on Wednesday, hurt along with its rivals by the economic slump. [ID:nT12AD3TB]
After the revision, Credit Suisse cut its rating on the stock to "underperform" from "neutral".
A rare bright spot was Shimizu Corp (1803.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), one of Japan's largest general contractors. It surged 13.4 percent to 492 yen after Mitsubishi UFJ Securities hiked its rating on the company to "2" from "3" citing long-term growth prospects.
Trade was light on the Tokyo exchange's first section, with 2.19 billion shares changing hands, below last week's daily average of 2.55 billion.
Declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones by more than 5 to 1. ($1=.8022 Euro) (Additional reporting by Masayuki Kitano; Editing by Michael Watson)
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