Roundup: Nikkei slips 0.28 pct as investors await ECB's easing decision

The Nikkei stock index closed down 0. 28 percent Thursday as investors hit the sidelines ahead of a keenly awaited decision by the European Central Bank (ECB) expected later in the day, as to whether the bank will unroll fresh stimulus measures to underpin the economy in the single currency region.

The Nikkei 225 added 48.54 points to finish at 17,329.02, while the broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange edged down 1.18 points, or 0.08 percent, to close at 1,389.43.

In a thin day of trade, local brokers said that investors were unwilling to assume aggressive positions ahead of the ECB's news, with economists widely believing Europe's central bank will roll out new quantitative easing to tackle deflation in the region, in the form of monthly bond purchases to the tune of 50 billion euros (57.9 billion U.S. dollars).

Yutaka Miura, from Mizuho Securities Co., noted that few were willing to "trade actively ahead of such a big event," referring to the expected news from the ECB, while other analysts, such as Hiroichi Nishi, from SMBC Nikko Securities Inc, said that some shares with a heavy exposure to European markets have already began to fall on profit taking.

Camera maker Canon, for instance, relinquished 0.8 percent to close at 3,880 yen (32.86 U.S. dollars), while Mazda Motor skidded down 1.9 percent to end at 2,535 yen.

But among other automaker issues, Nissan Motor accelerated 1.1 percent to 1,032 yen, following media reports Nissan plans to return some of its production operations from overseas hubs to Japan, due to a weaker yen.

But while oil-related issues found traction as crude's prices rose again, with JX Holdings, an oil producer, rising 1.7 percent to 447 yen, utilities came under pressure on rising fuel costs, and Chubu Electric Power dropped 0.9 percent to 1,375 yen, while Kansai Electric Power slipped 2.0 percent to close at 1,074.00 yen.

Tire maker Bridgestone also closed in negative territory Thursday, falling 1.7 percent to 4,622 yen, following a slump on related rubber exchange and rising prices for June delivery.

Oriental Land Co., operator of the Tokyo Disney Resort, was another noter notable decliner, tumbling 5.3 percent to 30,610 yen, following UBS Group AG lowering its rating on the stock from " neutral" to "sell."

But Nikkei heavyweight SoftBank climbed 2.8 percent to 7,056 yen, following reports its U.S. subsidiary Sprint and Google are in talks regarding Sprint using Google's wireless service to sell its plans directly to its customers.

Trading volume on Thursday dropped to 1.97 billion shares on the Tokyo Exchange's First Section, down from Wednesday's volume of 2.18 billion shares, with declining issues beating advancing ones by 988 to 724. Endi