Asian shares struggled on Thursday after a lacklustre performance on Wall Street as investors looked to U.S. economic data later in the day for potential catalysts, as markets wind down ahead of the holidays.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan erased early modest gains and slipped 0.5percent, while Japan's Nikkei stock index finished 0.1 percent lower, edging down from this week's one-year highs.
Japanese stocks edged down from one-year highs on Thursday as investors took profits from recent gainers such as financials in otherwise thinning trade ahead of the holiday season.
The Nikkei share average dropped 0.1 percent to 19,427.67. The broader Topix fell 0.1 percent to 1,543.82.
China's main stock indexes barely moved on Thursday, as strength in shares of state-owned enterprises (SOE) was offset by persisting tight liquidity in the wake of a bond scandal.
The CSI300 index, which rose nearly 1 percent on Wednesday, fell 0.1 percent, to 3,335.81 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.1 percent, to 3,140.15 points.
Hong Kong stocks fell on Thursday, dragged by declines in steel and coal price as well as weakness in mainland companies listed in the city.
The Hang Seng index fell 0.8 percent, to 21,636.20, while the China Enterprises Index lost 1.4 percent, to9,200.24 points.
Reference : Reuters
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