(Updates with closing prices)

By Kevin Buckland

TOKYO, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average

slipped on Friday as investors locked in profits after four days

of gains, while awaiting a key U.S. jobs report later in the

day.

Chip stocks were standout losers, dragged down by declines

in their Wall Street peers overnight.

The Nikkei shed 0.77% to finish the day at

39,091.17, after briefly dipping below the psychological

milestone of 39,000. For the week, however, the index closed up

by about 2.3%.

Chip-testing equipment maker Advantest ( ADTTF ), an Nvidia

supplier, sagged 3.25% to lose the most points on the Nikkei.

Chip-making machinery giant Tokyo Electron ( TOELF ) slid 2.58%.

The broader Topix, which has a lower concentration

of tech shares, declined 0.55%. A sub-index of growth stocks

dropped 0.73%, against a 0.37% retreat in value stocks

.

"After four consecutive days of gains, caution in the market

is increasing," said Kazuo Kamitani, an equities strategist at

Nomura.

"More and more investors are stepping back to wait for the

U.S. payrolls report."

Monthly non-farm payrolls data will be carefully parsed

later in the day for fresh indications of the Federal Reserve's

interest rate path, with market-implied odds currently at around

73% for a quarter-point cut on Dec. 18.

Meanwhile, a stabilization in the yen exchange rate at

around 150 per dollar boosted automakers, which had

been pushed to multi-year lows in some cases on the currency's

rapid climb to a nearly two-month high earlier this week.

Nissan ( NSANF ) gained 2.65% and Mazda ( MZDAF ) rose 1.54%.

Toyota ( TM ) was an outlier, with a 0.11% decline.

Airlines were the top performers among the Tokyo

Stock Exchange's 33 industry groupings, gaining 0.73% as crude

oil prices were depressed amid a focus on weak demand.

(Reporting by Kevin Buckland; Editing by Sumana Nandy and Varun

H K)