TOKYO, Dec 25 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average

inched down on Wednesday as investors avoided active bets with

Wall Street closed for the Christmas holiday.

The Nikkei was down 0.12% at 38,990.56 by the midday

break, after rising as much as 0.37% after the open.

"The market struggled to find direction with foreign

investors away for the holiday season," said Fumio Matsumoto,

chief strategist at Okasan Securities.

"This time of the year, local individuals were the only ones

active in trading but they do not want to place active bets when

large stocks do not move actively with the absence of foreign

investors."

Entertainment company Konami ( KNAMF ) fell 1.74% to drag the

Nikkei the most. Drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo lost 1.41%

and phone company KDDI ( KDDIF ) slipped 0.59%.

The broader Topix fell 0.62% to 2,710.25, dragged

lower by Toyota Motor's ( TM ) 0.88% fall. Mitsubishi UFJ

Financial Group ( MUFG ) lost 0.91%.

Honda Motor ( HMC ) slipped 0.77% after surging 12.2% in

the previous session following the announcement of a share

buyback on Monday.

Local firms' share buybacks have supported Japanese

equities, but the buying is paused at the end of the year, which

is also weighing on the Nikkei, said Okasan's Matsumoto.

Nissan Motor ( NSANF ) erased early losses to surge 8.6% to

become the top percentage gainer on the Nikkei.

Heavy machinery maker Kawasaki Heavy Industries ( KWHIF )

jumped 4.78%.

All but two of the 33 industry sub-indexes of the Tokyo

Stock Exchange (TSE) fell.

Steelmakers rose 0.36% and energy explorers

inched up 0.6%.

Of more than 1,600 stocks trading on the TSE's prime market,

19% rose and 77% fell, with 3% trading flat.