Asian shares wobble in volatile trade as China tech sell off weighs

Asian equities bounced between gains and losses on Thursday as a selloff in Chinese technology shares due to concerns they will be de-listed from U.S. bourses and worries about a semiconductor shortage rattled some investors.

Hong Kong shares fell sharply at the open but then trimmed their losses to a 0.18% decline. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, Xiaomi Corp, and Tencent Holdings all traded lower. Shares in China rose 0.08%.

U.S. crude fell 1.45% to $60.29 per barrel, and Brent fell 1.21% to $63.64 a barrel, giving back some of the previous day's gains made after one of the world's largest container ships ran aground in the Suez Canal, blocking a vital shipping lane.

The dollar hit a fresh four-month high of $1.1804 per euro on Thursday as extended lockdowns and worries about the pace of vaccinations across Europe hobbled the common currency.

Even Germany's reversal of a call for a strict lockdown over the Easter period was not able to help the euro.