Nikkei down 0.7 percent, trading firms hit by oil fall

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average fell 0.7 percent on Thursday, with trading houses such as Mitsubishi Corp (8058.T) down on a fall in oil prices.

Softbank Corp (9984.T) jumped, cushioning the overall market's fall, after Japan's No.3 mobile phone carrier said it would start selling Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) popular iPhone in Japan.

The benchmark Nikkei .N225 ended the morning down 99.78 points at 14,335.79. The broader TOPIX index lost 0.5 percent to 1,423.29.