LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Many Asian bourses turned lower in midday Thursday trading, reversing direction after the release of higher-than-expected Chinese inflation data. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index traded down 0.6% at 21,081.8, Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.1% at 4,815.8, Seoul's Kospi fell 0.1% to 1,660.8 and the Shanghai Composite was down 0.6% at 3,029.4, after all of the indexes spent much of the morning in positive territory. Japan's Nikkei 225 Average remained in the green, up 0.3% at 10.591.7, though well of its highs. The move downward followed Chinese data showing consumer inflation rose 2.7% in February from a year earlier, above the 2.4% expected by economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires. Many banks shifted lower, with Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. down 1.5% and China Construction Bank Corp. down 1% in Hong Kong, though both were 0.2% higher in Shanghai, and with Westpac Banking Corp. down 1.6% in Sydney.

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