* Nikkei may top its May high in a few weeks - analyst
* Fujifilm soars on report on development for cancer drugs
By Ayai Tomisawa
TOKYO, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Japanese stocks retreated from a
6-month high on Tuesday morning as a pause in the weak yen trend
gave investors an opportunity to book gains after the market's
recent frenetic rise.
The Nikkei dropped 0.8 percent to 15,495.28 in
mid-morning trade after climbing 1.5 percent on the previous day
to within sight of a 5-1/2-year peak reached in May.
Analysts cited overbought signs in the Tokyo market, with
the index trading 5.5 percent above its 25-day moving average of
14,681.79.
"The market attracted sharp gains in the short period of
time, so profit-taking is only natural," said Kenji Shiomura, an
analyst at Daiwa Securities.
He said the Nikkei's rising trend opens the way to breaching
its May high of 15,942.60.
"Investors are focused on the outcome of Black Friday. If
headlines start showing positive figures as early as next week,
we may see more rises in the market on hopes that U.S.
consumption is strong," he said, referring to the Friday after
Thanksgiving and the start of Christmas shopping.
The Topix shed 0.6 percent to 1,252.61.
Exporters lost ground, with Toyota Motor Corp
falling 1.1 percent, Honda Motor Co dropping 1.2
percent and Sony Corp shedding 1.8 percent, after the
dollar trimmed gains on the yen to 101.52, having earlier
hit a six-month high around 101.91.
Bucking the trend, Fujifilm Holdings Corp soared
4.1 percent to 2,799 yen, the highest since March 2011 after the
Nikkei business daily reported that the company will create
cancer treatments jointly with MD Anderson Cancer Center of the
U.S., one of the world's leading comprehensive cancer hospitals.
Analysts said exporters may lead the market higher in the
coming months on expectations that their profits will improve
further as the yen stays weak against the dollar. A weaker yen
lifts their competitiveness abroad as well as their profits when
repatriated.
According to Bank Of America Merrill Lynch, of 1,460
companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's first-section
that have reported their earnings for the first half through
September, companies' operating profits rose 26.9 percent and
net profits jumped 90.4 percent.
"This appears to be a clear evidence of positive tailwinds
for corporate Japan in the form of 'Abenomics', the wealth
effect of higher share prices, and a recovery in consumer
confidence from higher bonuses and overtime pay," wrote Naoki
Kamiyama, head of Japan equity strategy.
Galvanized by the Japanese government's massive fiscal and