Tokyo shares end slightly lower ahead of US job report

Tokyo shares ended slightly lower Thursday, losing gains in the morning spurred by bargain-hunting buying, as investors awaited a report on the U.S. jobs data due out Friday. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average inched down 25.26 points, or 0.18 percent, from Wednesday at 14,155.12. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was down 0.27 point, or 0.02 percent, at 1, 162.37. Decliners were led by pharmaceutical, rubber and food shares, while gainers included paper and pulp, information and communication, and wholesale issues. The turnover was about 2,474.4 billion yen (about 24.38 billion U.S. dollars).