China steel rebar and steelmaking raw material futures sank on Thursday as speculative investors booked profits while oil settled lower as concerns over abundant global crude supplies persisted.

The local share price index futures fell 0.19 percent to 5688 points, a 73.5-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index close. The benchmark rose 0.5 percent on Thursday.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.08 percent in early trade.