Tokyo shares trim gains to fall 0.63% in early trade

Tokyo shares gave up early gains and fell into negative territory on Friday morning, amid fresh hopes for further easing in Europe.

The Nikkei-225 index at the Tokyo Stocks Exchange fell 0.63 percent or 114.65 points to 18,067.74 in mid-morning, after opening higher.

The Topix index of all first section shares also dropped 0.69 percent or 10.22 points to 1,464.76.

Investors remained cautious ahead of the US payrolls report, slated for release later Friday, and whether it will make or break the case for an interest-rate hike this month.

The yen's gain also weighed on the sentiment, as the Japanese currency stood at 119.89 to the dollar, compared with 120.01 seen in New York Thursday.

"Investors are waiting to see the US jobs report," Juichi Wako, a senior strategist at Nomura Holdings, told Bloomberg News.

"A weaker jobs number on Friday may be the straw that breaks the camel's back for a September rate hike," Jasper Lawler, a markets analyst at CMC Markets, told Bloomberg News via email.

The market opened higher after the European Central Bank said it may expand its stimulus measures to battle deflation.

ECB head Mario Draghi said that the bank's quantitative easing asset purchase program "provides sufficient flexibility in terms of adjusting the size, composition and duration," if the region's economy remains weak.

The comment lifted international markets, and drove down the euro against the dollar.

bur-hih/ds