Asahi will buy a group of eastern European beer brands from Anheuser-Busch InBev for €7.3bn, boosting its presence in the region in the largest overseas beer deal by a Japanese brewer.

Tesco is to merge its 131 stores in China with the second-biggest hypermarket chain in the country, ending almost a decade of independent operations as sales decline.

Shares prices closed lower in cautious trade, with Wall Street's overnight performance seen as a mere short-term rebound rather than indicating a genuine improvement in sentiment, dealers said.

Share prices were lower after Wall Street's decline, but off their lows with H-shares outperforming, amid general investor caution towards the weekend, dealers said.