Nikkei falls, exporters sold on U.S. growth fears

TOKYO, June 5 (Reuters) The Nikkei average fell 0.42 percent on Monday, led by falls in exporters such as Toyota Motor Corp., after surprisingly soft U.S. jobs data stoked concerns about slower economic growth in one of the top destinations for Japanese goods.

A decline in the dollar against the yen following the jobs data also undermined investor demand for exporter shares.

''The U.S. jobs data is negative for the market here.

Confidence over earnings at exporters such as Toyota is bogged down,'' said Tsuyoshi Nomaguchi, strategist at Daiwa Securities.

The Nikkei was down 66.05 points at 15,723.26 as of 0106 GMT.

It rose 1.84 percent on Friday.

The TOPIX index was down 0.64 percent at 1,595.83.

Toyota, the world's second-biggest auto maker, was down 1 percent at 6,060 yen. Rival Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. lost 1.7 percent to 1,349 yen.

Komatsu Ltd., Japan's biggest construction machinery maker, which posts 60 percent of its sales abroad, dropped 1.9 percent to 2,270 yen.

The falls followed Friday's data showing that 75,000 jobs were created in the United States in May, far short of forecasts for a 175,000 rise and an actual 126,000 increase a month earlier. The figures added to evidence of slowing economic growth and falling chances of the U.S. Federal Reserve raising overnight interest rates again this month.

''People will begin asking what on earth the U.S. economy is doing given such a big, unexpected fall in new job creation,'' Nomaguchi said.

On the other hand, resource-related stocks in Tokyo were bought on a rise in oil prices due to a row over Iran's insistence that it would go ahead with its nuclear work.

Nippon Mining Holdings Inc., operator of Japan's largest copper smelter and fifth-biggest oil refiner, jumped 4.5 percent to 1,018 yen.

REUTERS PDS VP0723