Nikkei flat, Hitachi plunges but Nissan climbs

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average was nearly flat on Wednesday as Hitachi (6501.T) tumbled after forecasting a fourth year of losses, while Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) jumped after projecting a smaller-than-expected operating loss.

Shares of firms seen as relatively immune to economic cycles drew demand as investors moved away from exporters that had gained sharply.

"Investors are probably shifting money to defensive stocks and taking profits in those sensitive to the health of the global economy such as exporters and financials as they have recovered sharply," said Masaru Hamasaki, a senior strategist at Toyota Asset Management.

"There isn't much room for further gains for those stocks unless some very strong data comes out, as positive news surrounding the financial sector has been factored in."

In choppy trade, the benchmark Nikkei .N225 inched up 0.1 percent or 9.55 points to 9,308.16.

It fell 1.6 percent the previous day, after rising more than 11 percent during five consecutive days of gains.

The broader Topix dipped 0.1 percent to 884.60.

Among other notable stock movements, Inpex Corp (1605.T), Japan's top oil and gas explorer, climbed 2.6 percent to 739,000 yen after crude oil rose to a six-month high on optimism an economic recovery may increase demand for fuel. <O/R>

HITACHI TUMBLES, NISSAN JUMPS

Hitachi, Japan's biggest electronics maker, shed 10 percent to 343 yen after projecting a far deeper loss than expected in its fourth straight year in the red, as it struggles with a slump in the chip, automotive and electronics sectors.

It was the biggest percentage loser among the Nikkei 225 components.

But Nissan shares jumped 5.5 percent to 538 yen. For the year to next March, Nissan sees an operating loss of 100 billion yen ($1.03 billion), less than a consensus forecast for a 239 billion yen loss.

The automaker's January-March operating loss of 230.4 billion yen compared with a year-earlier profit of 212 billion yen, but was not as bad as the 270 billion yen loss analysts had predicted.

Among defensive stocks, Astellas Pharma (4503.T) added 2.4 percent to 3,410 yen and Takeda Pharmaceutical (4502.T) climbed 2.1 percent to 3,810 yen.

But exporters fell as investors fretted over a stronger yen, which curbs exporters' profits when they are repatriated. In early Asia trade, the dollar fell 0.6 percent against the yen to 95.89 yen.

Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T), the world's biggest automaker, shed 3.2 percent to 3,620 yen, while Honda Motor Co (7267.T) slid 1.9 percent to 2,805 yen.

Trade slowed on the Tokyo stock exchange's first section, with 1.1 billion shares changing hands, below last week's morning average of 1.3 billion.

Advancing stocks and declining ones almost evenly matched, 769 to 730.

(Editing by Joseph Radford)