Japan's Nikkei share average edged up on Thursday, lifted by shares backed by strong earnings and shrugging off Wall Street weakness.

The Nikkei was 0.2 per cent higher at the end of morning trading at 21,742.98. On Wednesday, the Nikkei ended lower, snapping an unprecedented 16-day rising streak. “Japanese stocks had such a rapid ascent in October that it's normal for some adjustment to the pace of gains, even if investors believe there is further upside,” said Ayako Sera, senior market economist at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust.

Against the yen, the dollar stuck to recent ranges, down 0.2 per cent at 113.53 yen, below a three-month high of 114.245 yen touched on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, US stocks slipped, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 suffering their worst day in seven weeks, on a batch of soft quarterly earnings and a rise in US Treasury yields to seven-month highs.

Fanuc Corp was up 2.3 per cent after hitting more than two-year highs. The industrial robot maker posted upbeat earnings and said on Wednesday it expects to post net profit of 164.90 billion yen ($1.45 billion) in the full year through March 31, 2018, up from its previous estimate of 131.50 billion yen.

Panasonic Corp shares rose 1.8 per cent to touch more than two-year highs. The electronics giant will simultaneously increase its lithium battery production in Japan, China, and the United States, Nikkei reported. Daiwa Securities Group jumped 4.9 per cent after posting higher operating and recurring half-year profit and announcing a share buyback.

That helped boost the securities subindex 2.3 per cent. But Advantest Corp skidded 4.1 per cent after the chip-making equipment maker cut its net profit outlook for the fiscal year ending March 2018 to 14.5 billion yen from 15 billion yen.

The broader Topix edged up 0.1 per cent to 1,752.79, while the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 also rose 0.1 per cent to 15,522.93.

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