Asia's leading stock exchanges opened mostly downward in a situation where investors nervously await the new employment figures from the USA, which will be published later on Friday.
In Tokyo, the important Nikkei 225 index had fallen by 0.2 at lunchtime, while the broader Topix index lost 0.6.
South Korea's Kospi index followed the same slightly gloomy pattern and fell by 0.8.
Even from Shenzhen's composite index, the minor key tones were heard when it fell by 0.6, while Shanghai fluctuated around zero. The stock exchange in Hong Kong was closed due to a passing typhoon.
