* Commodity and futures players seen selling
* Resource-related stocks down after oil tumbles
* Support seen at 9,400, near bottom of post-quake range
* Foreigners place basket buy orders, domestic players sell
* Steelmakers climb after Nucor f'cast, Nomura report
By Ayai Tomisawa and Antoni Slodkowski
TOKYO, June 16 (Reuters) - Tokyo stocks fell 1.5 percent, joining other equity markets in tumbling on escalating Greek debt woes and disappointing U.S. data, but support of 9,400 that has mainly been in place since April looked set to hold as valuations are seen as attractive.
Selling accelerated in thin afternoon trade as gold prices weakened and U.S. stock futures fell, with commodity trading advisors cited as leading the decline.
Euro zone ministers failed on Tuesday to reach agreement on how private holders of Greek debt should share the costs of a new bailout. Uncertainty over a second rescue for Athens and fears of contagion pushed the bond yields of Greece, Ireland and Portugal to euro lifetime highs.
Adding to investor unease, Moody's threatened large French banks with possible downgrades.
But analysts said the Nikkei will stick within its well-trodden post-quake range and losses will likely be limited to the 9,400 line, as Japan stocks, which have shed 9 percent since the March 11 quake, have broadly underperformed other markets.
"We have got used to fairly disappointing data from the U.S., so I think today's fall is mostly prompted mostly by euro zone problems," said Takashi Ohba, a senior strategist at Okasan Securities.
In afternoon trade, Nikkei average was down 1.5 percent at 9,433.61. The broader Topix shed 1.3 percent to 814.36.
"Commodity trading advisors seemed to be selling on weakness in U.S. futures," said Hiroyuki Fukunaga, chief executive and technical analyst at Investrust, adding that further support for the Nikkei lay at 9,380 if 9,400 was broken.
The Nikkei has traded mainly between 9,400 and 9,800 since April and analysts expect that range to hold for the next few weeks, saying Tokyo shares look attractive, trading roughly at book value compared with around 2.1 times book value for the S&P 500 .
Foreign investors placed basket buy orders, two traders said, with European funds seen purchasing 3 billion yen in about 20 small-cap stocks, while Asian players bought some 30 blue chip names for the total of 12 billion yen.
In contrast, domestic investors were spotted offloading some 10 billion yen in blue chip shares.
STEELMAKERS CHARGE HIGHER
Resource-related shares underperformed after oil slid more than 4 percent on Wednesday as signs of further economic weakness fed demand worries and a rising dollar weighed, sending U.S. crude to its lowest since February.
Inpex Corp , Japan's biggest oil and gas developer, shed 2.9 percent to 570,000 yen, while Mitsubishi Corp , Japan's largest commodities trader, dropped 2.9 percent to 1,935 yen.
Tokyo Electric Power Co and other power companies stopped rising, having gained over two straight sessions, with analysts saying the government's acceptance of the scheme to help Tepco compensate those affected by the crisis at its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has been fully priced in.
Tokyo Electric was down 1.5 percent at 324 yen, while Chubu Electric shed 1.2 percent to 1,288 yen.
Takeda Pharmaceutical declined 2.0 percent to 3,635 yen after U.S. drug regulators said that its Actos diabetes drug can increase the risk of bladder cancer if used for more than a year.
But steelmakers charged higher, making the iron & steel subindex the biggest gainer on the main board, with traders citing a bullish Nomura report on steel demand after U.S. steelmaker Nucor said it expects second-quarter earnings to jump.
JFE Holdings rose 2.7 percent to 2,024 yen and Nippon Steel gained 1.3 percent to 240 yen.
Volume stood at 1.4 billion shares in mid-afternoon trade, suggesting the overall number will come below Wednesday's 1.98 billion shares and the average for the past six days. (Editing by Edwina Gibbs)