TOKYO: Tokyo stocks have closed down 0.46 per cent, easing from 18-year highs on worries over Greece’s stalled debt reform talks.
The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange shed 96.63 points on Thursday to 20,771.40. The Topix index of all first-section issues was down 0.53 per cent, or 8.98 points, to 1,670.91.
After four days of gains, traders turned sellers in the wake of losses in US and European markets on signs of fresh problems in talks between Greece and its international creditors.
“We’re in a market where we’re swinging from joy to sorrow over Greece,” Mitsushige Akino, executive officer at Ichiyoshi Asset Management, told Bloomberg News.
He added some adjustments in the Nikkei were to be expected after pushing up against to the major chart line of 21,000.
While expectations were running high, Greek talks in Brussels have so far failed to break an impasse in the months-long stand-off.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will continue marathon talks with creditors Thursday to find a debt deal to save Athens from default, despite having lashed out at lenders for rejecting his reform plans.
Without extra bailout money by June 30, Greece will default on about €1.5 billion ($A2.18 billion) of debt owed to the International Monetary Fund.
However, the euro held up, fetching $US1.1212 and Y138.64 in Tokyo against $US1.1184 and Y138.73 in Asian trade on Wednesday.
The US dollar fell to Y123.65 from Y124.03 in Asia on Wednesday, in a blow to exporters.
Takata closed up 0.52 per cent at Y1,342 as it held a shareholders’ meeting against the backdrop of a widening airbag crisis that has been linked to eight deaths and sparked millions of vehicle recalls.
Toyota Motor dropped 1.31 per cent to Y8,338 and Nissan fell 1.56 per cent to Y1,257.5 after Japan’s two top car makers said they will recall more than three million more cars globally because of safety concerns over Takata airbags.
Factory robotics giant Fanuc fell 2.73 per cent to Y25,645.
