Asian stocks post tepid gains; Europe lower

Asian stock markets posted tepid gains Thursday as China's burst of inflation tempered confidence in the regional economic rebound. European shares opened lower.

Most Asian benchmarks fluctuated throughout the day as the latest figures raised doubts about the outlook for major economies.

Oil prices lingered near $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.

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.

As trading started in Europe, benchmarks in Germany and Britain dropped 0.3 percent and France's market fell 0.5 percent. Stock futures pointed to losses Thursday on Wall Street with S&P futures off 3.9 points, or 0.3 percent, at 1,141.80.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average gained 88.91 points, or 0.9 percent, to 10,653.70 despite the government cutting its estimate of fourth quarter growth. The market was boosted by a news report the government will soon upgrade its economic assessment for this year.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 19.91, or 0.1 percent, to 21,228.20 while South Korea's Kospi shed 0.3 percent to 1,656.62. China's Shanghai benchmark added 0.1 percent to 3,051.28 and India's Sensex was up 0.2 percent.

Elsewhere, Australia's index fell 0.1 percent and Taiwan's market retreated 0.4 percent.

Oil prices were lower in Asia. Benchmark crude for April delivery was down 20 cents to $82.23 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 90.43 yen from 90.49 yen. The euro fell to $1.3647 from $1.3654.