Japanese shares down on US losses, Greece fears

Japanese stocks edged down Thursday morning after overnight losses on Wall Street and as investors remained concerned about political uncertainty in Greece, according to dpa. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 17.92 points, or 0.2 per cent, to trade at 8,783.25 at the end of the morning session at 11:30 am (0230 GMT). The broader Topix index was down 1.5 points, or 0.2 per cent, at 737.38. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.26 per cent on Wednesday after Greece decided to hold another election after its political leaders failed to agree on a coalition government. Japan's economy expanded at an annualized pace of 4.1 per cent in the quarter that ended March 31 as increased domestic consumption and government spending supported an economic recovery, the government said. The result was better than forecast by economists surveyed by the Kyodo News agency whose predictions for a rise averaged 3.3 per cent. On currency markets at 11:30 am in Tokyo, the dollar traded at 80.29-32 yen, down from Wednesday's 5 pm quote of 80.38-40 yen. The euro was quoted at 102.32-36 yen, up from 102.19-23 yen late Wednesday and at 1.2740-2744 dollars, up from 1.2713-2715 dollars.