Tokyo stocks down by break

Tokyo - Tokyo shares ended the morning slightly lower Friday with exporters hit by a stronger yen while investors look ahead to the release of key US jobs data later in the day.

The closely watched monthly US employment report - the first under the Donald Trump presidency - was expected to show the world's largest economy added 170 000 jobs in January, with the unemployment rate holding steady at 4.7%.

Analysts said investors remain anxious over uncertainty surrounding Trump's policies and statements following a series of controversies, the most recent being reports of a contentious phone call with Malcolm Turnbull, prime minister of Australia, a close US ally.

"With the news out of Washington and the new administration ramping up even further, past Trump reflation enthusiasm has waned further," David de Garis, a senior analyst at National Australia Bank, said in a commentary.

Investors were eyeing the US jobs data "to see whether the figures will rekindle bets for an early rate hike" by the Federal Reserve, Masahiro Ayukai, a senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities, told Bloomberg News.

Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 ended the morning down 70.91 points at 18 843.67, while the Topix index of all first-section issues was flat, edging 0.52 points lower to ¥1 510.93.

The dollar, meanwhile, was quoted at ¥112.65 in Tokyo, down from ¥112.79 in New York late on Thursday.

Sony surged 5.40% to ¥3 551, despite its announcement late on Thursday that it had halved its full-year profit forecast.

Panasonic fell 1.0% to ¥1 167.5 after the company said late on Thursday that a US unit operating in-flight entertainment and communication systems business is under investigation by US authorities for alleged violations of bribery and securities laws.

Automaker Toyota slipped 0.38% to ¥6 404 while Toshiba was down 1.37% to ¥237.5, reversing earlier gains.

Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal similarly reversed earlier gains to slide 0.25% to ¥2 722, after it upgraded its full-year profit forecast.