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BANGKOK – Asian stock markets were mostly lower Thursday as China's burst of inflation and Japan's weaker growth tempered confidence in the regional economic rebound.
Most markets were modestly higher in the first two hours of trading but reversed course as the latest figures raised doubts about the outlook for major economies.
Oil prices fell below $82 a barrel amid signs of tepid U.S. crude demand and the dollar lost ground against the yen while rising slightly versus the euro.
China's inflation rate jumped to 2.7 percent in February over a year earlier from 1.5 percent in January, adding to pressure on Beijing to prevent overheating without derailing recovery.
Japan, meanwhile, cut its reading of fourth quarter growth to an annualized 3.8 percent from the initial estimate of 4.6 percent. That underscored the patchy recovery in the world's No. 2 economy.
In Australia too, there was a break in the recent slew of positive economic news. The jobless rate edged up slightly to 5.3 percent in February, the first rise since peaking at 5.8 percent last October.
Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average was up 88.91 points, or 0.9 percent, to 10,653.70 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 74.07, or 0.4 percent, to 21,134.22.
South Korea's Kospi was off 0.2 percent at 1,659.35 and China's Shanghai benchmark slipped 0.1 percent to 3,047.92.
Elsewhere, Australia's index fell 0.1 percent and Singapore's market also shed 0.1 percent. India's Sensex added 0.1 percent.
Oil prices were lower in Asia. Benchmark crude for April delivery was down 51 cents to $81.58 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 60 cents to settle at $82.09 on Wednesday.
In currencies, the dollar fell to 90.37 yen from 90.49 yen. The euro fell to $1.3646 from $1.3654.
