Japan's Nikkei share average edged up on Friday, echoing Wall Street gains, but trading was subdued as investors awaited US jobs data for possible clues on the Federal Reserve's next move on interest rates.
The Nikkei gained 0.2 per cent to 19,685.97 points by midmorning trade. For the week, the Nikkei looked set to rise 1.2 per cent, which would snap a six-week losing streak.
US markets are closed on Monday for Labor Day.
Data on Thursday showed US consumer spending rose slightly less than expected in July and annual inflation increased at its slowest pace since late 2015, which could make the Fed more cautious about another rate rise this year.
Friday's non-farm payrolls report is expected to show that employers added 180,000 jobs in August, according to the median estimate of 93 economists polled by Reuters.
“Investors want to see if the yen will rise or fall after the US jobs data, and they don't want to take large positions before a long weekend in the US,” said Yutaka Miura, a senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities.
The dollar was stable against the yen. The dollar edged up 0.1 per cent to 110.07, up 0.6 per cent for the week and well above this week's nadir of 108.265 yen.
Tech shares outperformed, with Advantest Corp surging 1.6 per cent, TDK Corp and Sony Corp rising 1.0 per cent.
Automakers were mixed, with Toyota Motor Corp shedding 0.2 per cent and Honda Motor Co advancing 0.6 per cent.
ANA Holdings soared 2.6 percent after the airline company said it bought 32.7 million shares of its common stock for 13.35 billion yen in total on Friday.