DHAKA: Major Asian stock markets ended down Friday, erasing early gains despite a positive finish from Wall Street overnight.

In another late spate of sell-offs, the Shanghai composite was down 105.43 points, or 3.51 percent, at 2,902.21, closing in bear market territory. The index is down some 20.52 percent since its most recent high of 3,651.76 on December 22, reports the .cnbc.com

The Shenzhen composite fell 63.23 points, or 3.40 percent, at 1,796.13.

The ASX 200 closed down 16.58 points, or 0.34 percent, at 4,892.80, after trading at a session high of 4,997.10 in the morning.

Japan's Nikkei 225, which was initially up by as much as 1.77 percent, fell into negative territory, finishing 93.84 points, or 0.54 percent, lower at 17,147.11. On Thursday, the Nikkei lost 2.68 percent. In total, the Nikkei has lost 9.91 percent since the last trading day of 2015.

South Korea's Kospi also erased gains to close down 21.14 points, or 1.11 percent, at 1,878.87.

Angus Nicholson, market analyst at spreadbetter IG, wrote in a note that the "weight of China seemed to steadily push the steam out of the markets" even before Chinese markets opened.

BDST: 1400 HRS, JAN 15, 2016
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