MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gave up early gains and was down 0.2 per cent

Asian stocks were mostly higher on Thursday as dovish comments from U.S. central bank officials and a smooth auction of Japanese super-long debt eased investor jitters in bond markets.

Shares rose in Australia, India and Japan, but Chinese shares declined the most since April on reports of regulatory intervention to tame runaway speculation.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gave up early gains and was down 0.2 per cent, dragged lower by losses in China.

The CSI 300 dived 2.6 per cent and was on track for a third day of declines after Bloomberg News said financial regulators were preparing cooling measures for the market.

U.S. stock futures gained 0.1 per cent after Fed officials’ comments and 30-year Japanese government bond auction, drawing buyers into beaten-down equities.

Australian shares added 1 per cent, recovering from their biggest one-day sell-off since April, while the Nikkei 225 gained 1.6 per cent.

We got one or two days of weakness but the dip-buyers have stepped in, said Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG in Sydney.

Many people are looking for this weakness in September to be a buying opportunity, with economic growth still resilient, he added. This is a good backdrop for equities.

Sensex was 1.1 per cent higher as markets opened, after the government cut levies on several goods to support consumption and counteract U.S. tariffs.

Financial markets started September in a downbeat mood, with a sell-off in longer-dated bonds dousing investor confidence ahead of U.S. non-farm payrolls on Friday.

Overnight, the selloff in bond markets slowed, but concerns about the fiscal health of some economies kept long-dated borrowing costs pinned near multi-year highs.