TOKYO: Tokyo stocks fell 0.74 percent on Wednesday morning after European and US markets tumbled overnight on uncertainty over the Greek debt swap and worries about the global economy.
The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange lost 71.56 points to 9,566.07 by the break after US stocks closed with their biggest losses of the year Tuesday on rekindled jitters over Greece's fiscal situation.
The Topix index of all first-section issues dropped 0.81 percent or 6.74 points to 820.61.
SMBC Nikko Securities general manager of equities Hiroichi Nishi pegged the Nikkei's floor at 9,450 for Wednesday, saying some dip-buying was likely as the market remains viable.
Concerns that not enough of Greece's creditors would sign on to the country's crucial debt swap -- essentially a 107-billion-euro ($140 billion) writedown of Athens' bonds -- brought new worries to the fragile eurozone and hit the euro on Tuesday.
The euro was trading at $1.3146 and 106.26 yen in midday Tokyo trade, firming from $1.3113 and 106.06 yen late Tuesday in New York.
The dollar was at 80.84 yen, almost unchanged from New York but still down from the mid-81 yen range a day earlier.
Exporters fell, with Toyota Motor down 1.21 percent at 3,245 yen and Sony down 2.02 percent at 1.644 yen.
Financials were sharply off, with Nomura Holdings down 1.90 percent at 361 yen.
Olympus ended the morning session down 1.15 percent at 1,285 after prosecutors charged the scandal-hit company and three former senior executives over a huge loss cover-up.
Following sharp falls in European markets the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 203.66 points (1.57 percent) to end Tuesday at 12,759.15. It was the blue-chip Dow's first 200-point-plus loss since November 23.
Fresh data confirming the eurozone appears headed into recession, after shrinking by 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter, also weighed on sentiment.
That came after China's dampened growth outlook on Monday, and as Brazil reported a mere 0.3 percent expansion in the fourth quarter.
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