TOKYO, Oct 28 (Reuters) - The new benchmark TOCOM rubber futures contract edged up in early trade on Monday, supported by a weaker yen that makes the contract more affordable for investors using other currencies.

FUNDAMENTALS

* The Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for April delivery JRUc6 0#2JRU: was up 0.2 yen from the opening price at 261.3 yen per kg by 0024 GMT. The March contract settled 6.1 yen lower at 256.6 yen per kg on Friday. ID:nL3N0IF27S

* The U.S. dollar was quoted around 97.54 yen JPY= in Asia, edging away from a more than two-week low of 96.92 yen hit on Friday.

The dollar remained supported against the yen on the view that the yield differential between Japanese government bonds and U.S. Treasuries will persist, as the Federal Reserve eventually moves toward tapering its stimulus while the Bank of Japan maintains its ultra-easy stance. FRX/

* Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told Japanese troops on Sunday that Japan would not tolerate the use of force to change the region's status quo, comments likely to rile Beijing which is locked in a long and bitter territorial dispute with Tokyo.

ID:nL3N0IH054

* On Friday, rubber inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange were up 0.7 percent week-on-week, the bourse said. ID:nEMS011405

* For the top stories in rubber market and other news, click

TOP/CE , TOP/MACRO RUB/T or COM/WRAP

MARKET NEWS

* Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock average .N225 rose 1 percent in early Monday trade, getting a sentiment boost from Wall Street after strong corporate results from the likes of Microsoft drove the U.S. S&P 500 index to an all-time closing high on Friday. MKTS/GLOB

* The 19-commodity Thomson Reuters/CoreCommodity CRB index

.TRJCRB finished 0.3 percent higher on Friday, after U.S. crude oil, which is the largest component of the index, rose. COM/WRAP

DATA EVENTS

* The following data is expected on Monday: (Time in GMT)

0900 Italy Business confidence ITBUSC=ECI

1315 U.S. Industrial output USIP=ECI

1400 U.S. Pending home sales USNAR=ECI

1430 U.S. Dallas Fed Texas manufacturing USTEX=ECI

(Reporting by James Topham; Editing by Ed Davies)

((james.topham@thomsonreuters.com)(+813 6441 1858)(Reuters Messaging: james.topham.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 

 ((For morning and afternoon prices at Thailand's state-run central rubber market, click on  
  RUB-BKK3
  .  For other physical rubber prices in Thailand, click on 
  RUB-BKK1
    
  RUB-BKK2
  .  For more details on Indonesian and Malaysian prices click on  
  RURKJK
   and  
  RUQG
  .  * Reuters Terminal users can see cash and futures rubber prices by double clicking on the codes in the brackets: - Tokyo rubber futures --  
  0#JRU:
   - Shanghai rubber futures      --  
  0#SNR:
   - Singapore rubber futures     --  
  0#SRS:
   
  0#SRU:
   
  0#STF:
   - Thai rubber futures          --   
  0#ARU:
   
  0#ASR20:
   - All rubber news              
  RUB
   - Tokyo rubber report          
  RUB/T
   - Shanghai rubber report       
  RUB-CN
   - Thailand rubber report       
  RUB/TH
   - Asian rubber report          
  RUB/AS
   For Related News and other topics, double click on one of these codes: SPEED GUIDES  
  RUBBER1
    
  SOFTS/NEWS1
  ))

Keywords: MARKETS ASIA RUBBER/