Japan"s Nikkei share average slipped on Thursday as investors turned cautious ahead of key central bank meetings next week, although strong gains for airlines limited losses with Omicron fears continuing to recede. The Nikkei 225 (.N225) declined 0.15% to 28,818.53 as of the lunch break, but had earlier touched a nearly two-week intraday high of 28,908.29. The U.S. Federal Reserve headlines a string of central bank policy decisions next week, which also includes the Bank of Japan and European Central Bank. "Investors seem to want to take time to judge the direction of financial markets with so many key central banks meetings next week, so they are adopting a wait-and-see approach," said Masahiro Ichikawa, chief market strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management. "The 200-day moving average is putting a tight lid on gains." The 200-day moving average provided stiff resistance at 28,895.39, as investors took a breather following a more than 4% rally from last Thursday"s close. The broader Topix (.TOPX) sank 0.33%, with metal products (.IMETL.T), textiles (.ITXTL.T) and machinery (.IMCHN.T) stocks leading declines. Automakers also took a hit, with Nissan (7201.T) off 1.79%, and Honda (7267.T) down 0.83%. The Topix Growth Index (.TOPXG) lost 0.18%, compared with a 0.49% decline for the Topix Value Index (.TOPXV). Airlines (.IAIRL.T), meanwhile, outperformed on hopes that the Omicron coronavirus variant will not significantly disrupt economic reopenings. The sector"s 1.71% gain outpaced peers by a big margin, with ANA Holdings (9202.T) gaining 1.46% and Japan Airlines (9201.T) rallying 2.01%. Pfizer and partner BioNTech said on Wednesday their three-shot course of the vaccine was able to neutralize the new variant in a laboratory test, and they could deliver an upgraded vaccine in March 2022 if needed. read more SoftBank Group (9984.T) gained 1.64%, the best performer on the Nikkei by index points. Internet retailer Rakuten Group (4755.T) jumped 1.82% and sauce-maker Kikkoman (2801.T) rallied 2.05%. Editing by Devika Syamnath Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.