vestors also have to be cautious about the possible effects.''

Mitsubishi Corp. may lead gains by trading companies after prices for commodities including oil, gold and silver rose.

Nikkei 225 Stock Average futures expiring in March closed in Chicago at 18,205 on Feb. 23, down from 18,220 in Osaka and 18,210 in Singapore. The Bank of New York Japan ADR Index, which tracks the nation's American depositary receipts, added 0.2 percent.

Komatsu Ltd. may slide after saying it is being investigated for insider trading violations related to a 2005 share buyback program. Nikko Cordial Corp. may rise on speculation Citigroup Inc. will increase its stake in an investment-banking joint venture.

U.S.-traded receipts of Toyota, the world's largest automaker by value, lost 0.4 percent from the closing share price in Tokyo last week. Those of NEC Corp., Japan's largest personal- computer maker, slipped 0.2 percent.

Shares of subprime lenders slumped in the U.S. on Feb. 23. NovaStar Financial Inc., which posted a surprise fourth-quarter loss last week, plunged 9.2 percent. New Century Financial Corp., which had already lost half its value this year, slid another 6.2 percent.

Risky Loans

H&R Block Inc., whose Option One unit is the nation's ninth- biggest subprime lender, reported on Feb. 22 a net loss of $111 million last quarter.

Subprime-mortgage defaults have been rising in the U.S. as weaker home prices and higher interest rates make it harder for borrowers to repay. HSBC Holdings Plc and New Century Financial Corp., the largest U.S. lenders to the riskiest borrowers, this month said profit may suffer as more loans go sour.

A subprime loan has a higher interest rate than loans that are issued to a bank's most credit-worthy customers.

Stocks may also slip after the relative strength index for the Topix, based on its 14-day moving average, reached 76.59 on Feb. 23, the highest since December 2005. An index level above 70 signals to some analysts that it's poised to fall.

Indonesia Plants

Mitsubishi Corp., which generates the second-biggest proportion of its sales from selling crude and industrial fuel, and Inpex Holdings Inc., Japan's biggest oil explorer, may climb.

Crude oil for April delivery rose 0.3 percent to $61.14 a barrel in New York on Feb. 23, the highest close since Dec. 22. Meanwhile, gold futures rose to as high as $691.90 an ounce, the highest since May 18, while silver climbed to as much as $14.66 an ounce, the best since May 12.

Trading companies may also gain after the Nikkei newspaper reported on Feb. 24 companies are signing agreements to build biofuel plants in Indonesia.

Komatsu, the world's second-largest maker of construction machinery, may be asked to pay a fine of ``several tens of millions of yen,'' (hundreds of thousands of dollars) by the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission, the company said on Feb. 23.

Nikko Cordial, Japan's third-largest brokerage, may gain. Citigroup, the biggest U.S. bank, may increase its stake in Nikko Citigroup Ltd. to 33.4 percent from 4.9 percent to shore up the Japanese brokerage following an accounting scandal, three people with knowledge of the discussions said.

Nintendo Co. may decline. Japan's government will sell 67.3 billion yen of shares in Nintendo, the world's largest maker of portable video game players, the company said in a statement.

Last week, the Nikkei gained 1.8 percent to 18,188.42 and the Topix index climbed 2.3 percent to 1814.96, a seventh week of gains.