Tokyo stocks down at break with eyes on US data

Tokyo - Tokyo stocks fell on Friday morning as investors grew cautious ahead of US jobs data and a weekend Italian referendum, with the benchmark index slipping off a 2016 high.

Japanese markets have rallied alongside a broader global equities boom in the wake of Donald Trump's US election victory.

A sinking yen has also boosted sentiment while a deal this week that saw Opec agree on a plan to cut oil production lifted markets as crude rates soared.

But many investors took their cards off the table on Friday.

"In the short term, there's a sense of overbuying in the market," said Yoshinori Ogawa, a senior strategist at Okasan Securities.

"With the US jobs report and the Italian vote over the weekend, it's a lot easier to see profit-taking," he told Bloomberg News.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 lost 87.67 points, to sit at 18 425.45 by the break, having chalked up its best close this year on Thursday.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues was down 2.48 points, at 1 480.79.

The US releases later on Friday its November jobs report, which could give an indication of the Federal Reserve's plans for interest rates over the next year.

On Sunday, Italy votes on constitutional reform. The result is being closely watched for its potential to topple the government with Italy's heavily indebted banks already close to peril.

In currency trading, the dollar declined to ¥113.92 on Friday from ¥114.11 in New York.

Tokyo stocks often react negatively to a stronger yen, which tends to dent the profitability of Japanese exporters.

Sony tumbled 2.43% to ¥3 170 and Toyota slipped 0.40% to ¥6 680.

Canon rose 0.36% to ¥3 296 after the Nikkei business daily reported that the firm will work with Japan's state space agency on developing low-cost mini-rockets as small as telephone poles.