Asian share gains fade

Asian shares languished after giving up small gains on Tuesday, as modest relief on data showing the Chinese economy grew slightly more than expected was replaced by lingering concerns of weakening momentum in the world's second-biggest economy. European shares might fare better at the open, with financial spreadbetters predicting Britain's FTSE 100 would open up 0.1 per cent, while Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 were each seen up 0.2 per cent. China's gross national product expanded 7.3 per cent between July and September from a year earlier, slightly above expectations but slower than the 7.5 per cent clocked in the second quarter. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan erased modest gains made after the Chinese figures, and bobbed around the previous session's close. The Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.4 per cent. Japan's Nikkei stock average extended losses and closed down 2 per cent as the yen strengthened and investors locked in profits after the previous session's 4 per cent rally, according to Reuters.