Nikkei edges down; Nintendo, Canon weak as earnings disappoint
* Nikkei choppy but Topix steady
* Advancing issues outnumbers declining ones
* Hopes for BOJ's ETF buying limit drops - traders
By Ayai Tomisawa
TOKYO, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average edged down in choppy trade on Thursday morning as poor earnings forecasts from companies such as Nintendo and Canon disappointed the market, offsetting gains in domestic demand sensitive stocks.
The Nikkei fell 0.2 percent to 17,353.99 in midmorning trade after flirting with positive territory briefly.
Traders said that losses were somewhat limited by hopes that the Bank Of Japan will buy exchange traded funds. On Wednesday, the BOJ bought ETFs worth 70.7 billion yen.
"When there is bad news and the market is falling in the morning, investor sentiment is still supported because investors would think that that's when the BOJ would buy ETFs," said Hikaru Sato, a senior technical analyst at Daiwa Securities.
Nintendo Co fell more than 3 percent after it cut its annual profit outlook by a third.
Canon Inc also dropped more than 3 percent after it cut its full-year operating profit forecast.
On the other hand, Advantest Corp soared 2.6 percent after the company hiked its operating profit forecast to 14.5 billion yen for the year ending March 2017, up from a previously forecast 11 billion yen.
Domestic demand sensitive stocks outperformed, with East Japan Railway Co rising 1.0 percent, Mitsubishi Estate Co surging 2.2 percent and Kajima Corp gaining 1.4 percent.
The broader Topix added 0.1 percent to 1,384.53, as advancing issues outnumbered declining issues on the broader market. In midmorning trade, 56 percent of the stocks were rising, while 34 percent were falling.
The JPX-Nikkei Index 400 advanced 0.1 percent to 12,410.02.
(Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
