Nikkei edges up, Fast Retailing gains

(Updates to midsession)

TOKYO, April 3 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average edged up on Thursday, with casual clothing firm Fast Retailing Co Ltd (9983.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), whose weighting makes it the second-biggest contributor to the Nikkei, climbing 2 percent on strong sales.

But the market spent most of the morning in negative territory as investors locked in profits after a rally and ahead of U.S. jobs figures.

Toshiba Corp (6502.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) jumped 5.7 percent after the Nikkei business daily reported it has won contracts to build four nuclear power plants in the United States worth about 1.4 trillion yen ($13.7 billion).

The benchmark Nikkei .N225 ended the morning up 0.1 percent at 13,200.71. The broader TOPIX also gained 0.1 percent to 1,282.78. (Reporting by Taiga Uranaka)