Tokyo stocks down 0.20pc by noon
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange ended the morning session down 16.81 points at 8,599.74, giving up early gains after profit taking.
The Topix index of all first-section issues dipped 1.61 points, or 0.21 percent, to 748.21.
Investors were waiting for a scheduled teleconference later in the day among the leaders of Germany, France and Greece, Tsuyoshi Segawa, equity strategist at Mizuho Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires.
Some select issues will attract investors but fresh buying in any sector will remain limited until more clarity emerges on the European front, he said.
Hideyuki Ishiguro, a strategist at Okasan Securities, said he did not expect a sharp fall.
"Overall, stocks will likely hold up well today and tomorrow as we are seeing more action out of Europe this week, with a Greece-Germany-France teleconference later today and Geithner's attendance in a EU meeting on Friday," he said.
US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will attend an informal meeting of European Union finance ministers and central bankers on Friday in Poland.
Nomura Holdings ended the morning flat after rising on reports that Japan's largest brokerage firm is set to cut about five percent of its workforce in its Europe, Middle East and Africa operations to reduce costs.
Factory automation systems maker Fanuc ended the morning up 1.69 percent at 10,790 after briefly rising more than four percent.
Nintendo, which plunged more than five percent on Tuesday, turned up 0.73 percent to 12,410 yen in Osaka.
Sony was up 2.87 percent at 1,540 yen after hitting a multi-decade low on Tuesday.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 44.73 points (0.40 percent) to close at 11,105.85 on Tuesday.
A late rally capped off a rollercoaster day as investors hoped that the three-way teleconference would help rein in the financial turmoil emanating from the eurozone.
Fresh fears of a Greek default sent stock markets tumbling and drove the euro lower this week.
Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011