Tokyo's Nikkei closes down more than 1.1%

Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei index lost more than 1.1 per cent on Friday as investors locked in profits from recent rallies after US shares retreated.

The Nikkei 225 index fell 1.11 per cent, or 260.10 points, to close at 23,205.43. Over the week, it rose 1.4 per cent.

The broader Topix index was down 0.90 per cent, or 14.64 points, at 1,616.60 but climbed 0.7 per cent from a week earlier.

Tokyo shares opened sharply lower as investors cashed in after Wall Street stocks suffered steep declines Thursday.

"Today's move was seen as a cyclical adjustment following gains," Toshikazu Horiuchi, a broker at IwaiCosmo Securities, told AFP.

A wait-and-see attitude ahead of key US jobs data later in the day is also weighing on the market, brokers said.

The dollar fetched 106.18 yen in Asian afternoon trade, against 106.17 yen in New York late Thursday.

In Tokyo, game giant Nintendo dropped 1.18 per cent to 59,800 yen, with Sony down 1.63 percent at 8,288 yen and Uniqlo-operator Fast Retailing falling 0.18 per cent to 65,810 yen.

But Honda jumped 2.22 per cent to 2,756 yen after it and General Motors announced they were establishing a strategic alliance in North America to share vehicle platforms and development costs.