Japan's Nikkei falls 1.4 pct on U.S. recession fears

(Adds comments and stocks)

By Taiga Uranaka

TOKYO, March 10 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average fell 1.4 percent on Monday, led lower by exporters such as Sony Corp (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) after bleak U.S. jobs data added to fears that the world's largest economy is already in recession.

Brewer Sapporo Holdings Ltd (2501.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) jumped as much as 7 percent after U.S. fund Steel Partners said it would seek a smaller stake in Sapporo and offer a higher price per share.

The market brushed off a huge leap in Japanese machinery orders figures, with industrial robot maker Fanuc Ltd (6954.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) paring early gains and falling nearly 2 percent. [nT196540]

"Machinery orders do not matter when the all-important U.S. economy is deteriorating," said Harushige Kobayashi, head of research at Maruwa Securities.

The benchmark Nikkei .N225 ended the morning session down 183.02 points at 12,599.78. The broader TOPIX index shed 1.3 percent to 1,231.00.

The market is closely watching whether the Nikkei holds above this year's low of 12,572.68 hit on Jan. 22, which has been seen as a line of support.

"It's like walking on thin ice. The market is under selling pressure and it's hard to expect anything to boost it," Kobayashi said.