Most Asian stock benchmarks traded lower Friday as investor sentiment was dented by an impasse between Greece and its creditors, as AP reported. KEEPING SCORE: Tokyo's Nikkei 225 fell 0.4 percent to 20,404.22 and South Korea's Kospi was down 0.2 percent to 2,067.89. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.7 percent to 27,354.50 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.6 percent to 5,470.90. Southeast Asian benchmarks were also mostly lower but the Shanghai Composite Index in mainland China added 0.4 percent to 4,963.90. ANALYST'S TAKE: "Greek debt negotiations at crunch point and data on U.S. jobs and China's trade to be released ... a safety first approach seems logical," said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets. GREEK UNCERTAINTY: Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and the head of the European Union's executive arm held talks stretching into early Thursday yet failed to yield an agreement to release vital loans. Later Thursday, Greece told the International Monetary Fund that it would postpone a payment due Friday and bundle it together with three other payments at the end of the month. Greece's decision illustrates how much it is struggling to meet its financial obligations without rescue, and the possibility that Greece could default on its debts and become the first country to drop the euro currency made investors nervous. AMERICAN JOBS: Investors were also cautious ahead of the release of the U.S. government's monthly jobs report that may provide hints on the health of the world's biggest economy. Economists predict that employers added 227,500 jobs in May and the unemployment rate will hold steady at 5.4 percent. WALL STREET: The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 18.23 points, or 0.9 percent, to finish at 2,095.84. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 170.69 points, or 0.9 percent, to 17,905.58 and the Nasdaq composite lost 40.11 points, or 0.8 percent, to 5,059.12. ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude added 9 cents to $58.09 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.64 to close at $58.00 a barrel on Thursday on expectations that OPEC will decide to keep its output high at its Friday meeting in Vienna. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oil used by many U.S. refineries, rose 4 cents to $62.07 in London. CURRENCIES: The euro rose to $1.1218 from $1.1195. The dollar dipped to 124.44 yen from 124.45 yen.
