*Nikkei up 0.1 pct, Ricoh gains on acquisition plan
*Canon falls sharply on rival Ricoh's announcement
*Uncertainty over economic outlook weighs
(Adds comments and stocks)
By Taiga Uranaka
TOKYO, Aug 28 (Reuters) - The Nikkei average edged up 0.1
percent on Thursday, with copier maker Ricoh Co Ltd <7752.T>
gaining sharply on its plans to acquire a U.S. office equipment
distributor.
But the overall market lacked direction, with the index
swinging between positive and negative territory throughout the
morning, as investors fretted over uncertainty about the global
economy even after Wall Street ended higher on surprisingly
strong U.S. durable goods data.
"Investors are unlikely to come back to the market unless
they can see an end to U.S. credit concerns and the global
economic slowdown," said Katsuhiko Kodama, senior strategist at
Toyo Securities.
"It's hard for the Nikkei to climb above 12,900 with the
amount of trade we have at the moment, though at around 12,600,
the index is likely to be supported by buying from public pension
funds," he said.
The benchmark Nikkei <> ended the morning up 7.04 points
at 12,760.00. The broader Topix <> lost 0.3 percent to
1,220.41.
New orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods jumped a
surprising 1.3 percent in July as businesses ramped up spending
plans and demand for a wide array of items rose, a government
report showed on Wednesday. []
Trade remained subdued, with 681 million shares changing
hands, compared with last week's morning average of 784 million.
"Unless foreign investors, who account for some 70 percent of
trade in the Tokyo market, make moves, the market does not move,"
said Yoshihiro Ito, senior strategist at Okasan Asset Management.
"Some shares are bought because they are viewed as bargains
against their book value, earnings or dividend yield, but there
isn't a factor to lift the entire market," he said.
Canon Inc <7751.T> fell 4.2 percent to 4,840 yen, the biggest
drag on the Nikkei after rival Ricoh said it would buy U.S.
office equipment distributor Ikon Office Solutions <IKN.N> for
$1.6 billion. []
Ricoh rose 3.8 percent to 1,792 yen.
Acom Co <8572.T> soared 9.2 percent to 3,100 yen after
financial sources said Japan's top bank Mitsubishi UFJ Financial
Group <8306.T> would raise its stake in the consumer lender.
Mitsubishi UFJ ended the morning up 0.2 percent at 819 yen.
Declining shares outpaced advancers by more than 2 to 1.
(Editing by Chris Gallagher)
