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Asian shares gave up early gains to fall again on Thursday, weighed by declines in China and Hong Kong, even after a strong lead-in from Wall Street which had also pushed the dollar to the lower end of its recent range.

Falls in Chinese property stocks pushed Asian shares down for a fourth day on Thursday, reversing initial gains, while the dollar was in the doldrums floating within its recent range.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.84%.

· HK stocks drop 2% to 2021 low on Evergrande contagion fears

Hong Kong equities dropped about 2% on Thursday to the lowest this year, and China shares sank, as investors dumped property and consumer stocks amid fears China Evergrande Group’s financial woes could ripple through the broader economy.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 2% to 24,538.82 points by lunch break, the lowest level since early November. The Hong Kong China Enterprises Index lost 2.1%.

In China, the blue-chip CSI300 index fell 0.7%, to 4,831.06 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.7% to 3,631.45 points.

Evergrande shares tumbled 8.5% to the lowest in a decade, as a liquidity crisis at the debt-laden developer worsens.

· Japanese shares fall on profit-booking after recent rally

Japanese shares closed lower for a second straight session on Thursday, as investors continued to cash in after a recent rally that was led by hopes of new political leadership.

The Nikkei share average ended down 0.62% at 30,323.34, after rising as much as 0.36% earlier in the session, while the broader Topix slipped 0.3% to 2,090.16.

The Nikkei also fell after 12 straight days of posting a “bullish candlestick”, which appears when a market closes above its opening level.

· In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.53%.

Indian shares hit all-time highs on Thursday, boosted by banking stocks, while auto and telecom companies climbed a day after the federal government approved support packages for both the sectors.

The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index was up 0.3% at 17,568.2 by 0404 GMT, having hit a peak of 17,576.9. The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.27% to 58,878.0, after touching a record high of 58,908.18.

· European markets advance, breaking from cautious global sentiment; Continental down 12%

European stocks climbed on Thursday morning, bucking the trend seen in the U.S. and Asia as global investors kept an eye on economic data and central banks.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 rose 0.6% in early trade, with travel and leisure stocks adding 1.8% to lead gains as all sectors entered positive territory except basic resources, which fell 0.7%.

Markets in Europe received a weak handover from Asia-Pacific, where Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index led the declines among major indexes as casino shares plummeted amid regulatory worries.

· Industrials, financials lead UK shares higher; Ashtead Group jumps

UK shares edged higher on Thursday, lifted by industrials and financial stocks, while Ashtead Group jumped to the top of FTSE 100 index following a strong earnings update.

The blue-chip index rose 0.4%, with drugmaker AstraZeneca’s 0.9% gain providing the biggest boost.

· Stock futures dip following S&P 500′s best day in more than two weeks

Stock futures were marginally lower in early morning trading on Thursday following a rebound on Wall Street as the market tried to avert the seasonally weak September.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 29 points. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures traded in mildly negative territory.

Reference: CNBC, Reuters