Japan's Nikkei share average slipped on Thursday, taking its cue from losses on Wall Street, with weakness seen in retail and real estate sectors. The Nikkei was down 0.37 per cent at 22,806.28 at the end of morning trading. The broader Topix was down 0.17 per cent at 1,818.14.
Investors awaited the outcome of the Bank of Japan's policy meeting, which came during the midday trading break. The BOJ held policy as widely expected.
Japan's Pasona Group Inc was up 12 per cent at the end of morning trading after touching a record high. The staffing company on Wednesday hiked its operating profit forecast for the six months through November 30. The retail subindex and the real estate subindex both skidded 0.6 per cent.
But the mining and oil sectors were among gainers, up 2 per cent and 0.9 per cent, respectively, as crude oil prices marked strong gains on Wednesday on the back of a drop in US crude inventories