TOKYO, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average was seen moving higher on Wednesday after losing 1 percent on profit-taking a day earlier when the Bank of Japan eased monetary policy in line with expectations. ``Since the reaction to the BOJ was fully priced in yesterday, I think we should bounce back today,'' said Toshiyuki Kanayama, senior market analyst at Monex. ``The index should be steady, with some small gains, although there's a lack of incentives because the U.S. wasn't open.'' Market players said the Nikkei was likely to trade between 8,850 to 8,950 on Wednesday. Nikkei futures in Chicago closed at 8,915, up 0.7 percent from the close in Osaka of 8,850. U.S. markets have been closed for two days due to a massive storm that slammed into the eastern seaboard on Monday. Japan's quarterly earnings season, which has been weak so far, continues on Wednesday with a slew of major companies reporting, including Softbank Corp, Panasonic Corp , Mitsubishi Electric and Toshiba Corp . Sixty-three percent of the 27 Nikkei companies that had reported by Monday undershot market expectations, according to Thomson Reuters Starmine, in comparison to 54 percent in the previous quarter. The BOJ increased the size of its asset buying and lending programme by $138 billion, bringing the total to $1.14 trillion. The Nikkei dropped 87.36 points to 8,841.98 on Tuesday, a two-week closing low, while the yen firmed to 79.41 against the dollar, dampening shares of exporters.
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> US gasoline falls as Sandy hits demand STOCKS TO WATCH - MITSUI & CO Mitsui may post a 26 percent drop in annual net profit of 320 billion yen ($4 billion), below its current forecast forecast of 400 billion yen and could likely cut its annual dividend, as slowing demand in China has hit sales, the Nikkei business daily reported. -TOSHIBA CORP Toshiba is likely to report an operating profit of 260 billion yen ($3.3 billion) this fiscal year, lower than its current forecast of 300 billion yen, as flash memory prices fell between April and June. -HITACHI LTD Hitachi reported a 4.1 percent drop in interim operating profit on Tuesday, making 163.60 billion yen ($2.06 billion), but kept its full-year operating profit forecast the same, at 480 billion yen ($6.03 billion). The company also said on Tuesday it has bought British company Horizon, which is building over six nuclear power plants in Britain, for approximately $1.1 billion. -FUJI HEAVY INDUSTRIES Fuji Heavy Industries hiked its operating profit forecast for the year ending March 2013 to 82 billion yen ($1.03 billion) on Tuesday, from a previous forecast of 67 billion yen.