TOKYO, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Japanese shares fell in early trade on Thursday hit by worries about the Omicron coronavirus variant and a hawkish tilt at the U.S. Federal Reserve, but pared most of these losses on bargain-hunting in quality stocks. At 0045 GMT, the Nikkei average (.N225) were down 0.54% at 27,780.02, after falling as much as 1.04% earlier. The broader Topix (.TOPX) shed 0.40% to 1,929.43 but hovered above Wednesday"s three-month intraday low of 1,914.93. Investors fretted over economic damages from the Omicron coronavirus variant, with the United States becoming the latest country to report a case. read more "The market is reacting a bit emotionally to... Omicron. Yesterday, U.S. stocks fell when the market heard about just one person getting it in the U.S., as if that is more important than 534,000 people getting jobs according to ADP report," said Norihiro Fujito, chief investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities. "But at current market levels, long-only investors are ready to buy stocks that have good prospects," he said. Another headwind was after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Tuesday that policymakers will discuss an earlier end to the central bank"s stimulus. read more Airline shares got a fresh blow after they suspended new reservations for international flights to Japan until the end of December at the government"s request. read more Japan Airlines (9201.T) fell 2.7%, while ANA Holdings (9202.T) lost 1.5%. Train operators sagged, with East Japan Railway losing 2.6% and Keisei Electric Railway (9009.T) falling 2.0% to a one-year low. Mitsubishi Chemical (4188.T) sank 8.9% after investors gave a cold shoulder to its plan to spin off its petrochemical and carbon operations. read more On the other hand, defensive shares such as drugmakers and some growth-oriented stocks attracted bargain-hunting. Ono Pharmaceutical (4528.T) rose 2.4%, while Astellas Pharma (4503.T) gained 1.7%. Industrial automation system maker SMC (6273.T) rose 1.1%, while bicycle maker Shimano (7309.T) jumped 2.6%.