Nikkei dips, investors await earnings and data

* Nikkei hovers near 25-day moving average

* Investors await US corporate earnings this week

* Little direct impact from opposition win in local election

By Masayuki Kitano

TOKYO, July 6 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei stock average edged down 0.8 percent on Monday with investors lacking the conviction to push shares higher after the Nikkei's surge to an eight-month peak last month.

Retailer Aeon (8267.T: Quote, Profile, Research) initially fell by more than 1 percent after the Nikkei business daily said the firm likely logged a 2 billion yen ($20.83 million) net loss for the March-May quarter, but later shed its losses to edge higher. [ID:nT265353]

Shipping firms including Nippon Yusen (9101.T: Quote, Profile, Research) fell after the Baltic Exchange's main sea fright index .BADI, which tracks rates to ship dry commodities, dropped 4.14 percent to a three-week low of 3,520 points on Friday. [ID:nL3440007]

Moves in the Nikkei were subdued, with investors awaiting upcoming economic data and corporate earnings for hints on direction, market analysts said. "There are few reasons to actively sell shares when their prices take a dip because the economy is improving albeit gradually," said Hideyuki Ishiguro, a supervisor in Okasan Securities' investment strategy department. But with U.S. and Japanese company earnings coming up over the next few weeks, there is no compelling reason to chase share prices higher at this point, Ishiguro said.

The U.S. corporate earnings reporting season gets under way this week with bellwethers Alcoa (AA.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Chevron (CVX.N: Quote, Profile, Research) posting quarterly scorecards. [RESF/US]