Nikkei up 0.1 pct, Ricoh gains on acquisition plan

*Nikkei up 0.1 pct, Ricoh gains on acquisition plan

*Canon falls sharply on rival Ricoh's announcement

*Uncertainty over economic outlook weighs (Adds comments and stocks)

By Taiga Uranaka

TOKYO, Aug 28 (Reuters) - The Nikkei average edged up 0.1 percent on Thursday, with copier maker Ricoh Co Ltd (7752.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) gaining sharply on its plans to acquire a U.S. office equipment distributor.

But the overall market lacked direction, with the index swinging between positive and negative territory throughout the morning, as investors fretted over uncertainty about the global economy even after Wall Street ended higher on surprisingly strong U.S. durable goods data.

"Investors are unlikely to come back to the market unless they can see an end to U.S. credit concerns and the global economic slowdown," said Katsuhiko Kodama, senior strategist at Toyo Securities.

"It's hard for the Nikkei to climb above 12,900 with the amount of trade we have at the moment, though at around 12,600, the index is likely to be supported by buying from public pension funds," he said.

The benchmark Nikkei .N225 ended the morning up 7.04 points at 12,760.00. The broader Topix .TOPX lost 0.3 percent to 1,220.41.

New orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods jumped a surprising 1.3 percent in July as businesses ramped up spending plans and demand for a wide array of items rose, a government report showed on Wednesday. [ID:nN27443202]

Trade remained subdued, with 681 million shares changing hands, compared with last week's morning average of 784 million.

"Unless foreign investors, who account for some 70 percent of trade in the Tokyo market, make moves, the market does not move," said Yoshihiro Ito, senior strategist at Okasan Asset Management.

"Some shares are bought because they are viewed as bargains against their book value, earnings or dividend yield, but there isn't a factor to lift the entire market," he said.

Canon Inc (7751.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) fell 4.2 percent to 4,840 yen, the biggest drag on the Nikkei after rival Ricoh said it would buy U.S. office equipment distributor Ikon Office Solutions IKN.N for $1.6 billion. [ID:nT32166]

Ricoh rose 3.8 percent to 1,792 yen.

Acom Co (8572.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) soared 9.2 percent to 3,100 yen after financial sources said Japan's top bank Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) would raise its stake in the consumer lender.  Continued...