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TOKYO, Sept 1 (Reuters) The Nikkei average fell 0.58 percent in relatively slow trade on Friday as investors took profits in igh-tech stocks including Kyocera Corp. and other companies that posted big gains in the previous session.

Asahi Tec Corp. surged nearly 21 percent -- adding nearly 3.20 billion yen ($27.25 million) to its market capitalisation in just two hours of trade -- on expectations the auto parts manufacturer will buy a U.S. rival.

Market participants were looking ahead to U.S. jobs data due later on Friday, helping the push toward profit-taking. The data is seen as a gauge of the health of the U.S. economy, a key market for Japanese exports.

The market was largely driven by the urge to lock in gains from Thursday's 1.69 percent advance, said Tatsuyuki Kawasaki, director of equities trading division at Kaneyama Securities.

''We are at the end of the week and investors are looking ahead to the (U.S.) jobs data. I think we'll probably end the day not much off where we are now,'' Kawasaki said.

Fairly slow trade also weighed on the market, he said.

The Nikkei finished the morning 93.39 points lower at 16,047.37. It rose 1.69 percent on Thursday.

The broader TOPIX index was down 0.55 percent at 1,625.54.

Kyocera was fell 1.4 percent to 10,000 yen, becoming the biggest contributor to the Nikkei's decline. The maker of electronic components gained 3.1 percent in the previous session.

Office equipment maker Canon Inc. fell 1.2 percent to 5,770 yen after adding 2.3 percent on Thursday.

Shares of electronic components maker TDK Corp. fell 0.66 percent to 9,030 yen, erasing some of its 1.5 percent gain from the previous session.

Asahi Tec soared 20.6 percent to 310 yen by the close of the morning session. The company said its board will decide on the acquisition of U.S. rival Metaldyne Corp. later in the day in a deal worth about $1.3 billion.

JOBS DATA AHEAD Investors were looking to the release of U.S. nonfarm payrolls for August for clues about the strength of the U.S. economy and the outlook for interest rates there.

''If the numbers are bad, there are concerns that could be the sign of an abrupt slowdown,'' said Hideyuki Suzuki, investment information manager at SBI Securities.

Such a slowdown would be bad news for Japanese stocks, he added.

Precision equipment maker Nikon Corp. rose 2.4 percent to 2,175 yen, extending gains into a fourth session, after a newspaper said the company may report a 41 percent rise in profit for the six months to September, helped by the weaker yen and strong demand for advanced digital cameras.

Business daily Nihon Keizai said on Friday that Nikon's operating profit may rise to around a record 40 billion yen ($340 million), compared with 28.38 billion yen a year earlier.

Shares of Osaka Securities Exchange Co. Ltd. rose 10.7 percent to 1.35 million yen after Japan's second-largest stock exchange said it planned a 3-for-1 share split on Oct. 1, for shareholders as of Sept. 30.

Trade was relatively thin, with 717 million shares changing hands on the Tokyo exchange's first section, compared with last week's morning average of 729 million. Declining shares outnumbered gainers by a ratio of more than two to one.

REUTERS MQA RN0936