Asian shares drop back

Asian markets were trading lower after Japanese shares opened at a fresh seven-year high.The Nikkei was up 0.7% to 17,520 - its highest intraday level since July 2007, but has since fallen 0.2% to 17,353.77. Hong Kong shares opened lower with the Hang Seng Index down 0.1% to 23,982.96. The Shanghai Composite was down 0.7% to 2,468.36 points. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index was up 0.2% at 5,451.6 despite being weighed down by energy and mining stocks, dragged lower by falling oil prices. The price of Brent crude oil lost 4.4% on Thursday to $77.52, its lowest level for four years. US crude also fell to a four-year low. Shares of heavyweight miner BHP Billiton were down 0.4% in early trade. South Korean shares were down 0.8%, with the Kospi at 1944.78, after data showed that exports in October rose 2.3%, slightly lower than a provisional 2.5% rise reported earlier, according to BBC.