TOKYO, June 4 (Reuters) - The following stocks are on the move on Tuesday.
**MITSUBISHI MOTORS HIT BY PROFIT TAKING**
Mitsubishi Motors Corp down 4.21 percent at 387 yen after data on Monday showed sales of its new automobiles excluding minicars dropped 33.4 percent year-to-year in May.
"The sales results were not a surprise. But the stock has been a great performer of late, rising 78 percent in the last six months. It was due to be hit by profit taking," said Stephen Usher, senior analyst at JP Morgan. 0415 GMT **JAPAN TOBACCO UP ON DEFENSIVE STATUS AS TECHS FALL**
Japan Tobacco Inc up 6.86 percent or 57,000 yen at 888,000, compared to the Nikkei average's 1.5 percent drop.
"With the yen rising and global tech stocks soft, investors are looking for stocks not vulnerable to currency swings and dependent on domestic demand. JT fits that role," said Atsushi Tajima, deputy general manager of equities at Kokusai Securities.
East Japan Railway Co , the nation's biggest railway group, was also higher, gaining 1.67 percent to 608,000 yen.
A Japanese government agency said last week it planned to sell possibly its entire stake in East Japan. The government, burdened by heavy debts and slumping tax revenues, is also considering selling its holdings in Japan Tobacco. 0415 GMT
**SOTEC UP BY DAILY LIMIT ON SONY DEAL**
Sotec Co Ltd up 19.14 percent or by its daily limit of 40,000 yen at 249,000, the top gainer by percentage on the Nasdaq Japan bourse for start-up firms.
On Monday Sotec ended limit-up, or by 16.76 percent, after the company said during trade that its future PCs would be compatible with Sony Corp's Memory Stick, a chewing gum-size device that stores music, digital images and other data.
The 14-day relative strength index (RSI) for Sotec's stock is now at an unusually high 96, well above the 70 overbought line to suggest limited further upside in the near term. 0345 GMT **HITACHI GETS COOL MARKET RESPONSE TO IBM DEAL**
Hitachi Ltd, Japan's biggest electronics maker, down 3.7 percent or 35 yen at 911, underperforming a 2.15 percent decline in the electrical machinery index .
Hitachi said on Tuesday it will pay $2.05 billion for most of International Business Machines Corp's hard disk drive (HDD)-related assets, but the announcement was followed by sell orders from the market.
"The market has doubts about whether demand for disk drives will grow and in turn, whether this will contribute to Hitachi's bottom line," said a fund manager at a domestic institution.
Hitachi said it expected the venture to be in the black in the next business year. Hitachi will initially hold a 70 percent stake in the firm before taking full ownership after three years. 0145 GMT **SKY PERFECT FIRM ON BRISK SALES DUE TO WORLD CUP**
SkyPerfect Communications Inc up 0.83 percent at 121,000 yen, outperforming the TOPIX index's 0.80 percent fall.
Traders said shares of the pay-TV satellite broadcaster were snapped up after it said on Monday that May subscriptions jumped 2.5 times from a year earlier to 118,458, a record for the firm, on the back of World Cup-related demand.
Sky Perfect said subscriptions in the past week were rising at a similar pace of about double those of a year earlier. It is the only Japanese broadcaster to show all 64 World Cup games. 0115 GMT **MITSUI TRUST HITS ALL-TIME HIGH, GOLDMAN EYEING 800 YEN**
Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc , one of the smallest of Japan's top banks, up 8.54 percent or 24 yen at 305 after hitting an all-time high of 325 yen earlier. It was the first section's top percentage gainer and third-most active issue by volume.
"Mitsui Trust was one of the laggards in the banking sector and dealers and individuals have been looking for lower-priced shares like Mitsui and Daiwa Bank Holdings with liquidity," said Koichi Seki, an equity manager at Chuo Securities.
Set up on February 1, 2002 by bringing together Chuo Mitsui Trust & Banking and Mitsui Asset Trust & Banking, Mitsui Trust's stock has jumped 60 percent since May 23. During trade on the following day it forecast a return to the black in 2002/03. Goldman Sachs said the company's operating forecast for 2002/03 and disposals of bad loans were well ahead of its expectations. The brokerage set a conditional target price of 800 yen and a "market performer" rating. 0045 GMT **BEER MAKERS CONTINUE TUMBLE ON PRICE CUT CONCERNS**
Japan's top brewers were extending the previous session's losses, which came after Asahi Breweries Ltd said last week it would cut the price of its "Honnama" low-malt beer by 10 yen to 135 yen per 350 ml can, igniting concerns of a price war.
Asahi, Japan's largest beer maker, down 3.16 percent or 36 yen at 1,104 after falling 3.63 percent on Monday. Number-two ranked Kirin Brewery Co Ltd down 1.24 percent or 12 yen at 955 after hitting a five-week low of 947.
On Monday, Morgan Stanley analyst Taizo Demura cut his rating on Asahi to "equal weight" from "overweight", saying the impact of the price cuts may not hurt Asahi in the current fiscal year, but that a negative impact could emerge in 2003/04. 0025 GMT **TOSHIBA , CHIPS DOWN AFTER 5 PCT SOXX SLIDE**
Japanese chip-related shares came under pressure after the Philadelphia Stock Exchange semiconductor subindex plunged 5.23 percent, due in part to a quarterly sales forecast from chipmaker Xilinx Inc that disappointed Wall Street.
Toshiba Corp, Japan's top chipmaker, down 2.22 percent at 528 yen, chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron Ltd down 2.3 percent at 8,500 yen. 0008 GMT