Tokyo stocks open 0.49% lower

Tokyo's benchmark index opened 0.49 percent lower Wednesday after ending its longest winning streak in 27 years the previous day, as drops on Wall Street and a firmer yen weighed.

The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which turned down Tuesday after 12 days of gains, fell 100.04 points to 20,443.15 at the start.

On Tuesday, US stocks finished lower in choppy trade, following European equities downward after a senior EU official complained of slow progress in talks to avoid a Greek debt default.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.16 percent.

The broad-based S&P 500 dipped 0.10 percent, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.13 percent.

Investors retreated to the sidelines as Friday is the deadline for Greece to repay more than 300 million euros ($328 million) to the International Monetary Fund.

Investors are also awaiting key US economic data later in the week, including Friday's jobs report for May.

In forex trading, the dollar was at 124.09 yen early Wednesday, unchanged from late Tuesday in New York but lower than levels seen in Tokyo earlier Tuesday.

In Tuesday Tokyo trading, the greenback briefly climbed to 125.05 yen -- its strongest level since December 2002 -- before settling back to 124.63 yen.

The euro slipped to $1.1144 and 138.30 yen Wednesday in Tokyo from $1.1152 and 138.39 yen Tuesday in New York.