( dpa ) - Stocks opened lower Friday in Tokyo on lower-than-expected machinery orders.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped 104.34 points, or 0.79 per cent, in morning trading to 13,102.81.
The broader Topix index of all first-section issues was also down 11.1 points, or 0.85 per cent, at 1,293.98.
Japan's core private-sector machinery orders fell 3.2 per cent in seasonally adjusted terms in December from the previous month to 1.02 trillion yen (9.54 billion dollars), the Cabinet Office said.
The data was weaker than an expected 0.8-per-cent decline, according to a Kyodo News Agency survey.
On currency markets at midday (0300 GMT), the dollar traded at 107.30-35 yen, up from Thursday's 5 pm quote of 106.52-54 yen.
The euro was quoted at 1.4474-79 dollars, down from Thursday's 5 pm quote of 1.4611-13 dollars, and at 155.34-39 yen, down from 155.64-68 yen.