The benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell 84.63 points to 8,531.02 by noon. The broader Topix index of all first-section issues declined 5.73 points or 0.76 percent to 748.34. Japanese shares faced early selling pressure after US stocks fell on Wednesday as investors became cautious ahead of a new EU-IMF audit of Greece and a German parliamentary vote on the new eurozone rescue plan. Trading houses led losses on sharp falls in crude, copper and other commodity prices as investor risk appetite faded over worries of a global economic slowdown. "The market theme is likely to shift from bailing out Greece to how to contain the impact of a Greece default, which would take time to resolve," Cosmo Securities strategist Toshikazu Horiuchi told Dow Jones Newswires. On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average skidded 1.61 percent to 11,010.90, while the broader S&P 500 gave up 2.07 percent to 1,151.06 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 2.17 percent to 2,491.58. Trading house Mitsubishi Corp was down 4.45 percent at 1,545 while Mitsui & Co. slipped 4.74 percent to 1,124. China-linked Fanuc was down 1.39 percent to 10,590 yen, with Komatsu off 3.07 percent at 1,640 yen. Nikon was down 3.60 percent at 1,791 yen by noon despite a local media report that the company's six-month group operating profit will likely jump 230 percent. Investors are disappointed that Nikon's full-year outlook seems to remain unchanged, says Hisatsune Kobayashi, general manager of global investment strategy at SMBC Nikko Securities. Tokyo Electric Power was down 13.68 percent at 227 yen on a Nikkei daily report that the utility, facing massive compensation costs, promised not to ask for a debt waiver in letters to financial institutions this year, said dealers. The euro clawed back some ground after it dropped in New York amid signs of divisions among European policymakers over a potential rescue package for Greece. The euro was trading at $1.3556, compared to $1.3536 in New York late Wednesday. Against the Japanese currency, the euro fell to 103.78 yen from 103.60 yen. The dollar remained unchanged against the yen at 76.54.