HONG KONG, June 4 (AFP): Most Asian markets fell today, with Shanghai plunging more than five per cent at one point and Tokyo's early gains whittled to almost nothing but the euro held its gains after Greece and its creditors met for key debt reform talks.
The dollar edged up following a broadly upbeat round of reports on the US economy as investors look ahead to the release Friday of key US jobs data.
Shanghai slumped 5.2 per cent at one point after a brokerage imposed restrictions on margin borrowing, limiting a crucial avenue of cash that has helped fuel a surge in mainland markets of the past year.
However, it clawed back the majority of those losses to sit 1.13 per cent lower in the afternoon, while Hong Kong was down 0.91 per cent. Sydney tumbled 1.42 per cent to close 79.30 points lower at 5,504.30 to mark a fourth straight loss.
Tokyo was marginally higher, adding 14.68 points to 20,488.19 and Seoul edged up 0.47 per cent, or 9.70 points, to 2,072.86.
US shares ended Wednesday on a high note after following figures showing solid growth in private-sector job hiring and a healthy outlook on the economy in the Federal Reserve's latest update.
In its closely watched Beige Book, the Fed said the world's number one economy returned to modest-to-moderate growth in April and May after stalling in the first three months of the year, partly because of severe winter weather.
On Wall Street the Dow added 0.36 per cent, the S&P 500 rose 0.21 per cent and the Nasdaq put on 0.45 per cent.
In Japanese currency trade Thursday the dollar was at 124.35 yen compared with 124.23 yen in New York, and well up from 123.90 yen in Tokyo earlier Wednesday.
Equity buying was also supported by comments from European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi, who said its new stimulus programme of bond-purchasing had began to kick and there were no plans to end it early.
The ECB also projected eurozone inflation would reach 0.3 per cent in 2015, up from its previous forecast of flat prices, while it kept its 2016 forecast at 1.5 per cent and its 2017 forecast at 1.8 per cent.
Data Tuesday showed inflation in the bloc rose in May for the first time in five months, fuelling hopes a recovery is taking shape.
The euro was at $1.1263 and 140.10 yen on Thursday compared with $1.1270 and 140.01 yen in US trade.
The single currency is holding up as investors track talks in Brussels between Greece and its creditors on overhauling its bailout ahead of a Friday deadline for it to repay some of its debt.
While a meeting between Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker ended late Wednesday without a breakthrough, they agreed to continue discussions that would unlock billions in much-needed cash for Greece.
Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who also attended the four-hour talks, told reporters it was a "very good meeting".
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