TOKYO: Tokyo stocks slipped 0.13 per cent by the close as concerns over the US economy and debt-ridden Greece dragged the market into negative territory.
The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange dipped 27.29 points to close at 20,460.90 on Friday, while the Topix index of all first-section shares fell 0.41 per cent, or 6.83 points, to 1,667.06.
Tokyo picked up a weak lead from Wall Street, which ended lower after the International Monetary Fund slashed its forecasts for US growth this year, citing a ports strike, bad winter weather, a strong dollar and the oil downturn.
Fund head Christine Lagarde also called on the Federal Reserve to refrain from hiking interest rates until 2016, saying conditions were not supportive of a move this year.
Her comments came as markets await the release on Friday of US jobs growth for May, which is used by the Fed to guide rate policy.
Markets were also jittery after Greece pushed back the deadline for an agreement on its debt repayments by agreeing with the IMF to bundle four looming loan payments into one totalling 1.6 billion euros ($A2.34 billion).
The move gives Athens until the end of the month to hammer out a deal with its creditors to unlock billions of euros needed to service its debts.
There is a fear that, if Greece defaults, it could be forced to leave the eurozone.
Athens is seeking less harsh fiscal and reform requirements while its paymasters – the EU, ECB and IMF – are unhappy with Greek efforts to roll back some earlier reform promises.
A Greek government source said there were key differences between the two sides, describing the creditors’ position as “extreme” and “unacceptable”.
