By Aiko Hayashi

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei stock average slipped 0.6 percent on Thursday, as investors sold recent gainers such as Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and other bank shares ahead of a wave of earnings announcements and national holidays.

Kirin Holdings Co, a brewer, dropped more than 6 percent after its quarterly operating profit fell 46 percent and a brokerage downgraded its shares. Earth-moving equipment maker Komatsu rose after forecasting 5 percent profit growth this year due to a construction boom in China.

But trade was slow on Thursday as most major Asian markets, except for Japan and Australia, were closed for May 1 Labour Day holidays and investors looked towards U.S. manufacturing and jobs data due on Thursday and Friday.

"Investors can't really move as the big event -- the Fed meeting -- is over and until they see the U.S. market moves after the holiday here and a series of upcoming important earnings results," said Naoki Koga, a senior fund manager at Toyota Asset Management.

He said the market will likely pay particular attention to earnings by blue-chip stocks such as Sony Corp and Toyota Motor Corp as the health of the U.S. and Japanese economies would be reflected in their outlooks.

"For now, it looks like investors simply took profits in banks and property firms that had led a rebound since the market hit bottom on March 17," Koga said.

Japanese markets will be closed on Monday and Tuesday for the Golden Week holiday.

Toyota will report results on May 8 and Sony is set to announce earnings on May 14.