Japan Hot Stocks-Alpine Electronics, Banks, oil distributors

TOKYO, Nov 20 - The benchmark Nikkei average <.N225> fell 1 percent and the broader TOPIX <.TOPX> was 0.5 percent lower on Friday.

The following stocks were on the move: **ALPINE ELECTRONICS <6816.T> UP AFTER MERRILL LYNCH UPGRADE**

Alpine Electronics Inc jumped 7.4 percent to 889 yen after Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst Hitoshi Kuriyama upgraded his rating on the car electronics maker to "buy" from "neutral."

The share price on the Alps Electric <6770.T> unit had fallen by too much, Kuriyama wrote in a report to investors, raising his price target to 1,100 yen from 1,030 yen.

"Better-than-expected earnings recovery is progressing thanks to fundamental cost structure improvement, including workforce reductions," he said, forecasting a return to profit in October-December. 0459 GMT **BANKS GAIN ON SHORT-COVERING AFTER RECENT LOSSES**

Mizuho Financial Group <8411.T> and other banks rose on what one market player said was short-covering after recent losses that, in the case of Mizuho, stretched back nearly to the start of the month.

Mizuho, Japan's second-largest bank, gained 1.9 percent to 158 yen and No. 3 bank Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group <8316.T> rose 1.8 percent to 2,770 yen. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group <8306.T>, which earlier this week announced a massive share issue, gained 0.9 percent to 470 yen. 0439 GMT **NIPPON OIL, OIL DISTRIBUTORS DOWN AFTER BROKER DOWNGRADE**

Nippon Oil Corp <5001.T>, Cosmo Oil <5007.T> and Nippon Mining Holdings <5016.T> fell on Friday after Citigroup Global Markets Japan Inc downgraded their shares to "hold" from "buy" in a research note issued the previous day.

Top refiner Nippon Oil dropped 2.1 percent to 373 yen, Cosmo Oil shed 2 percent to 199 yen and Nippon Mining declined 1.5 percent to 339 yen.

"Despite no signs of petroleum margin improvement, most primary distributors have H2 targets that we feel look optimistic," analyst Takashi Miyazaki said in the note.

The drops came after oil fell more than 2 percent the previous day. On Friday, oil was up 29 cents at $77.75 a barrel <CLc1>.

Citigroup Global Markets Japan kept its "buy" rating for TonenGeneral Sekiyu <5012.T>, but TonenGeneral's shares were 1.8 percent lower at 757 yen. 0401 GMT **CHIP-LINKED SHARES DOWN AFTER U.S. PEERS FALL**

Advantest Corp <6857.T> and other chip-related shares fell in the wake of losses by their U.S. peers after Bank of America-Merrill Lynch cut its 2010 growth outlook for the semiconductor industry on concerns about a rising inventory glut, and downgraded 10 stocks including Intel Corp <INTC.O> and Texas Instruments <.TXN.N>.

Advantest, which makes chip-testing equipment, lost 2.9 percent to 2,030 yen, Tokyo Electron <8035.T> lost 1.6 percent to 4,930 yen and Nikon Corp <7731.T>, which makes steppers, lost 4.3 percent to 1,568 yen. 0336 GMT **JFE <5411.T> DOWN DESPITE TIE-UP WITH JSW** JFE Holdings Inc, the world's sixth-biggest steelmaker, fell 3.3 percent to 2,790 yen despite the firm's announcement of a production tie-up with India's third-biggest steelmaker, JSW Steel Ltd <JSTL.BO>. [nT267373]

Minoru Matsuno, president of Value Search Asset Management, said the news was positive for JFE, but that this was overshadowed by the market's overall weakness stemming from the strong yen, a series of new share issues and the political situation in Japan. 0200 **RIBERESUTE <8887.Q> JUMPS AFTER LIFTING DIVIDEND FORECAST**

Riberesute Corp rallied 6.8 percent to 86,000 yen after the condominium developer lifted its annual dividend forecast to 6,000 yen per share from a previously projected 5,000 yen.

The company has been rapidly expanding its "outlet condominium" business by buying unsold units in bulk from other developers that are struggling with weak sales and tight financing, and reselling them to consumers at big discounts. 0200 GMT **MITSUBISHI CHEMICAL CLIMBS AFTER BROKER UPGRADE**

Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings <4188.T> surged 6.1 percent to 312 yen after Nomura Securities upgraded its rating on the company's shares to "1" from "2", citing Mitsubishi Chemical's announcement on Thursday that it would launch a a roughly 228 billion yen bid to buy acrylic fibre and resins maker Mitsubishi Rayon <3404.T>. [ID:nTFD006447]

"This business integration is likely to be a first step toward a major leap for the company's group," Nomura analyst Shuichi Nishimura said in a research note. 0158 GMT **SONY <6758.T> FALLS AFTER ANNOUNCING NEW BUSINESS STRATEGY**

Sony shares fall 2.6 percent to 2,405 yen after it pushed back an elusive target of an operating profit margin of 5 percent to March 2013 and said it aims to make its videogame and TV operations profitable next year.

Sony's TV business is in its sixth straight year of losses as it struggles to compete with South Korean rivals such as Samsung Electronics Co Ltd <005930.KS>, and analysts say it will be difficult for the unit to turn profitable soon. [ID:nT265644] 0017 GMT