admingreenback that has seen it lose about 4 percent against the yen, economists said the non-farm payrolls data would determine its near-term direction.
The continued weakness of the US unit sent Tokyo stocks down again, with the Nikkei losing 0,21 percent, or 26,49 points, to end at 12 877,53.
Sydney finished 0,91 percent, or 43,5 points, off at 4 737,7, while Hong Kong finished 1,21 percent lower, giving up 263,17 points to 21 575,26.
Shanghai shed 1,39 percent, or 31,21 points, to close at 2 210,90 ahead of the release of key indicators over the weekend, including trade and industrial output.
Seoul ended 1,80 percent, or 35,34 points, lower at 1 923,85. Samsung Electronics tumbled 6,2 percent, with traders blaming the fall on a JP Morgan research note suggesting the flagship Galaxy S4 smartphone may not be selling as well as hoped.
There are fears that a weak batch of job creation figures for May will highlight weakness in the US economy, fuelling another round of dollar selling.
The greenback has been under pressure all week following a series of poor data including on manufacturing and trade, while the Federal Reserve has also indicated that growth remains subdued.
Last week’s data will also be used to gauge the Federal Reserve’s next policy move amid expectations it is about to start pulling the plug on its monetary easing policy, also known as quantitative easing.
“Non-farm payrolls data . . . will determine near-term direction of stocks,” Tim Radford, global analyst at Rivkin, wrote in a note.
“Although a better than expected reading may indicate the Federal Reserve may look to reduce stimulus as early as September, the market should respond favourably,” he said, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
And William Leys, Premium Client Manager at CMC Markets, wrote in a note: “While a positive read will signal strength, it may also bring us closer to the end of the bond buying programme, which is a notion that still seems to unsettle the market.
“There is an apparent confusion over what constitutes the best case scenario for equities in the short term, fundamental strength or continued liquidity.”
The dollar stood at 96,60 yen in Tokyo, compared with 97,07 yen on Thursday in New York, where at one point it sunk as low as 95,88 yen. — AFP.
Online Reporter