Japan Shares Lower Ahead Of US Employment Data

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese shares ended slightly lower Friday, with few buyers ahead of a key unemployment report in the U.S. and the Group of 20 meeting of top finance officials in London.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.3 percent, or 27.53 points, to 10,187.11. The broader Topix index fell 0.8 percent to 935.74.

Shares were stuck in a small range for most of the day, echoing the performance on Wall Street overnight, where the Dow Jones industrial average managed a 0.7 percent gain. Investors on both sides of the Pacific are waiting to see if there are signs of a recovery in a jobs report for August due out Friday morning in the U.S.

"Investors were jittery ahead of the U.S. job report," said Yutaka Miura, senior market analyst at Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.

"Also investors took a wait-and-see stance ahead of the G-20 meeting," he said.

Investors are unsure of what developments will come out of the meeting in London on Friday and Saturday. U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has played down expectations for major announcements.