Japanese markets have erased gains from earlier in the session, as investors turned their focus to closely watched US jobs data due later.

    The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.7% at midday to 16,031.72, after a 0.4% jump at the open. The Topix index dropped 0.5 percent to 1,293.27 as of 12:42 p.m. in Tokyo, erasing a gain of 0.7 percent, as about seven shares retreated as every five that rose.