A woman chats with her fellow investor at a private securities company Tuesday, March 12, 2013 in Shanghai, China. Asian stock markets dropped Tuesday, dragged down by new worries about China's recovery and Europe's doldrums. An investor walks in front of the stock price monitor at a private securities company Tuesday March 12, 2013 in Shanghai, China. A woman chats with her fellow investor in front of the stock price monitor at a private securities company Tuesday March 12, 2013 in Shanghai, China. BANGKOK (AP) - World stock markets edged off recent highs in uneven trading Tuesday as worries grew about China's recovery and Europe's doldrums. Japan's Nikkei 225 did an about-face after spurting higher in the morning. After hitting 12,461.97, an intraday high not seen in more than four years, the benchmark sank 0.3 percent to close at 12,314.81. That finish put an end to an eight-day winning streak. The index has been boosted recently by the weakness of its currency against the greenback and expectations of action by the Bank of Japan to shore up the country's stalling economy once a new bank chief is installed. The Dow, which has closed every trading session higher since March 1, also appeared to be losing steam. Dow Jones industrial futures fell 0.1 percent to 14,362. S&P 500 futures fell 0.1 percent at 1,549. European stocks were almost flat in early trading. Britain's FTSE 100 rose slightly to 6,505.36. Germany's DAX was nearly unchanged at 7,985.99. France's CAC-40 dipped less than 0.1 percent to 3,835.57. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.9 percent to 22,890.60. South Korea's Kospi shed 0.5 percent to 1,993.34. Among individual stocks, China Railway Construction Group fell 6.5 percent in Hong Kong. China Railway Group shed 5.1 percent. Benchmark crude for April delivery was down 33 cents to $91.71 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In currencies, the euro slipped to $1.3001 from $1.3038 in New York on Monday. The dollar fell to 96.19 yen from 96.27 yen.