TOKYO: Tokyo shares ended 0.75 percent lower on Friday, tracking a tumble on Wall Street stoked by disappointing corporate earnings results.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed down 102.83 points to 13,650.11, while the Topix index of all first-section shares was also down 0.80 percent, or 9.17 points, to 1,142.65.
US shares suffered as Cisco and Walmart spotlighted the weak economic outlook in their earnings reports.
At the same time, a strong improvement in weekly unemployment insurance claims suggested a tightening of the jobs market, adding to expectations that the Federal Reserve will begin tapering its bond-buying stimulus programme soon.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 225.47 points or 1.47 percent to 15,112.19.
The broad-based S&P 500 gave up 24.07 points or 1.43 percent at 1,661.32, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 63.16 points or 1.72 percent at 3,606.12.
"The jobs data was a shock to the market, and put the whole tapering issue back on the front burner again," Hiroichi Nishi, SMBC Nikko Securities general manager of equities told Dow Jones Newswires.
Many traders stayed away from the market for summer vacation this week.
The dollar stood at 97.70 yen, up from 97.36 in New York Thursday.
The euro was at $1.3333 and 130.28 yen, compared with $1.3346 and 129.96.
Panasonic lost 1.52 percent to 845. Casual fashion chain Fast Retailing fell 0.31 percent to 32,000.
Some shares benefited from bargain-buying, with Fuji Heavy Industries up 1.65 percent at 2,461 yen.
Inpex rose 1.28 percent at 434,500 on a spike in crude prices following unrest in Egypt. (AFP)
