The leading stock exchanges went in different directions at the start of Thursday's trading.
In Tokyo, there were sour faces on the important Nikkei 225 index, which had fallen by 0.6 percent at lunchtime, while the broader Topix index was hovering around zero.
The composite index in Shanghai was also hovering around zero, while Shenzhen's composite index pointed up 0.9.
It was fairly cheerful in Hong Kong, where the Hang Seng rose 0.6.
