TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average inched higher on Thursday as market participants awaited the outcome of a closely watched Bank of Japan policy meeting and an acceleration of the corporate earnings season later this week.

Financial results produced some notable losers on the day, including chip-testing equipment maker Advantest and Nissan Motor, while online company CyberAgent tumbled more than 12% to lead decliners.

The Nikkei entered the midday recess up 0.19% at 32,729.47, after falling as much as 0.5% and then flipping to a gain of 0.27%.

The broader Topix was flat at 2,283.02.

The Nikkei has ended every session this week right around the 32,700 mark, with investors and analysts split on the chances of a hawkish tweak to the BOJ’s yield curve control (YCC) policy at the end of a two-day meeting on Friday.

The domestic earnings season also steps up a gear, with more than 200 companies reporting on Friday, compared with about 90 on Thursday.

The reporting period reaches a crescendo on Aug. 10, when 857 companies are due to announce their results.

Japan’s Nikkei ends lower ahead of BOJ meeting, auto-related shares drag

“Other than individual names that are moving because of financial results, this is a market currently where it’s very difficult to buy or sell actively,” said Maki Sawada, a strategist at Nomura Securities. Of the Nikkei’s 225 components, 100 rose versus 124 that fell, with one flat.

Advantest slid 1.84%, shaving 25 index points from the Nikkei to be the biggest drag.

By contrast, chipmaking equipment giant Tokyo Electron rose more than 2%.

Nissan dropped 3.58% despite overall favourable earnings, with the automaker predicting continued struggles in the Chinese market.

At the other end, electronics maker Sharp surged 4.5% to lead Nikkei advancers following a report in the Nikkei newspaper that top shareholder Foxconn has demanded the company submit an improvement plan within three months.