Nikkei falls to one-month low

Market stays risk averse before US jobs data

Japanese stocks dropped to a one-month low on Friday as investors refrained from taking risks ahead of a crucial US jobs report release later in the day.

The benchmark Nikkei dropped 1.0% to 14,086.80, after falling to 14,026.17 earlier, the lowest since Oct 9. For the week, it fell 0.8%.

The Topix dropped 0.7% to 1,176.42.

A strong jobs report would give the US Federal Reserve a reason to taper its monthly purchases of $85 billion in assets sooner rather than later, particularly after a much better-than-expected US gross domestic product report on Thursday.