Nikkei flat before Fed, Fast Retailing gains

* Trade lacks direction ahead of FOMC, ECB -analyst

* Furukawa Electric jumps after revising up forecast

TOKYO, Nov 4 (Reuters) - The Nikkei average was flat on Wednesday, with Fast Retailing (9983.T) climbing on a surge in sales at its Uniqlo clothing stores but some exporters losing ground amid caution before a Federal Reserve statement on interest rates and the economy.

Furukawa Electric (5801.T) jumped after revising its net forecast to a profit for the April-September first half, citing a recovery in demand for electronics and auto parts as well as cost-cutting.

"There's a sense of relief in the market after some U.S. economic indicators such as ISM beat expectations during a market holiday in Tokyo," said Yumi Nishimura, deputy general manager at Daiwa Securities SMBC.

The factory gauge from the Institute for Supply Management on Monday pointed to a brisk pace of growth in the fourth quarter and hinted at an improvement in the labor market in October. [ID:nN02437173]

"But on the whole, the market is lacking direction as investors wait for results from the FOMC and the ECB meetings."

The benchmark Nikkei .N225 inched down 2.48 points to 9,800.47, after sliding 2.3 percent on Monday to hit a three-week closing low. Japanese markets were closed on Tuesday for a national holiday.

The broader Topix dipped 0.2 percent to 878.86.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose slightly on Tuesday as news of a major railroad acquisition helped sentiment, but the Dow edged lower on caution as the Federal Open Market Committee began a two-day meeting that day.

While investors expect the Fed to leave rates close to zero, they are nervous to hear what the officials say about the economic outlook. [.N]

The European Central Bank meets on Thursday and is widely expected to keep euro zone interest rates at a record low of 1 percent. [ECB/POLL]

Fast Retailing advanced 2.3 percent to 15,470 yen after news that sales at its Uniqlo casual-clothing chain in Japan surged 35.7 percent in October from a year earlier, the biggest jump in over eight years, as cost-conscious consumers snapped up jackets and other winter items. [ID:nT73789]

Furukawa Electric jumped 5.6 percent to 357 yen after revising its net forecast for the April-September first half to a profit of 1.7 billion yen ($18.8 million) from a loss of 3.6 billion yen.

But among exporters, chip-tester maker Advantest Corp (6857.T) fell 2.1 percent to 1,955 yen, while Tokyo Electron Ltd (8035.T) lost 3.7 percent to 4,920 yen. (Reporting by Aiko Hayashi; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)