Nikkei edges up

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average crept up 0.2 percent on Thursday, after Wall Street ended the session with only a small decline despite a big loss reported by Merrill Lynch.

Still, the upside was heavy as a stronger yen against the dollar put pressure on exporters like Canon Inc (7751.T).

Bank shares were also sold after Merrill, the world's largest brokerage, reported a $2.3 billion loss and write-downs of $7.9 billion for bad bets on mortgages and leveraged loans.

The benchmark Nikkei .N225 ended the morning session up 34.75 points at 16,393.14. The broader TOPIX index was down 0.3 percent at 1,558.68.