Shares in Asia mostly down on Greece talks impasse, Shanghai nudges up

Investing.com - Asian shares were mostly in the red on Thursday as European negotiators struggled to get an agreement into shape of a bailout package for debt-laden Greece.

The Nikkei 225 fell 0.19%, while the S&P/ASX 2100 was down 0.67% and the Hang Seng index off 0.37%. The Shanghai Composite however bucked the trend, gaining 0.28% before the break.

Eurozone finance ministers ended their Wednesday meeting early as no real progress was made between Greece and its creditors ahead of the Eurogroup.

Finland's Finance Minister Alex Stubb, "that is it for tonight."

"The Eurogroup will continue again on Thursday at 13:00 CET," Stubb wrote on his Twitter (NYSE:NYSE:TWTR) account.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has called another meeting with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Wednesday evening in Europe. The heads of the creditors, the Economy Commissioners as well as Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem are also invited to participate.

Reuters said the meeting is seen as another effort on behalf of the commission to bridge the gaps between the two sides that revolve around pensions and taxes, as well as broader efforts to restructure debt.

Tsipras reportedly had spent hours with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, IMF head Christine Lagarde, European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi and the finance ministers' chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem. But by the time Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis sat down across the street with his 18 counterparts, the negotiations had not produced a draft text.

Overnight, U.S. stocks fell broadly halting a three-day rally, as a group of euro zone finance ministers ended discussions on Wednesday evening without reaching a temporary deal with Greece deemed necessary to help the cash-strapped nation avoid bankruptcy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted more than 175 points, erasing all of its gains from Monday's surge in one of its worst sessions over the last two months. The NASDAQ Composite index and the S&P 500 Composite index, meanwhile, each fell by more than 0.7% on a bearish day for stocks. The Dow slid 178 points or 0.98% to 17,966.07, dropping below 18,000 for the first time in five sessions, while the NASDAQ dipped 37.69 or 0.73% to 5,122.41, as biotechnology stocks lagged.

In addition, the S&P 500 fell 15.62 or 0.74% to 2,108.58, as all 10 sectors closed in the red.