Japanese stocks were flat in light, choppy trade on Thursday morning as investors bought defensive domestic shares while data showed corporate capital expenditure may be rising after months of government pressure on companies.

The Nikkei share average ended the morning session at 19,697.04. Through Wednesday, the benchmark index had a six-day streak of gains.

"We've had a decent run and a lot of the panic we've seen in the markets has subsided because things are looking so strong in the US," said Nicholas Smith, a strategist at CLSA.

"Today looks like a fairly defensive day, with domestics like retail and pharmaceutical taking the lead."

Data released before the market opened showed Japan's core machinery orders increased for the first time in four months, rising 7.5 per cent in September to beat the median forecast of 3.3 per cent in a Reuters poll.

A weak forecast for machinery orders in the October-December period pushed Japan's machinery stocks lower.

Okuma Corp fell 5.4 per cent during the morning session while Makino Milling Machine Co tumbled 6.3 percent and Mori Co slipped 3.8 per cent. The Topix subindex for machinery remained up by 0.3 per cent.

Paper and pulp shares added 1 per cent and the pharmaceutical sector edged up 0.7 per cent as investors bought defensive domestic shares.

Ulvac Inc jumped 17.2 per cent after raising its full-year earnings outlook. Resona Holdings Inc plunged 6.5 per cent after it reported a dive in net profit during the half ended in September.

The broader Topix was flat at 1,594.89 and the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 was flat at 14,369.06.

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