SINGAPORE, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Copper prices ticked lower on Thursday, easing from last session's two-week high, as rising COVID-19 infections in China and fears of a global recession weighed on prices.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange lost 0.04% to $8,438.50 a tonne, as of 0806 GMT, after touching its highest since Dec. 14 at $8,520 a tonne on Wednesday.

The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed 0.1% lower at 66,430 yuan ($9,532.76) a tonne.

Asian equities weakened slightly on Thursday as soaring COVID cases in China unsettled investors and cast doubt over chances of a swift recovery for the world's second biggest economy after the relaxation of stringent COVID curbs.

China's health system has come under heavy stress since Beijing started dismantling its zero-COVID regime at the start of the month.

On Monday, China announced it would end quarantine requirements for inbound travellers on Jan. 8, while several countries, including the United States and Japan, have made COVID tests mandatory for travellers from China.

Attention is also focused on a dispute over taxes between Panama's government and First Quantum Minerals. The company's Cobre Panama mine produced 331,000 tonnes of copper last year.

In other metals, aluminium added 0.2% to $2,384.50, zinc gained 1.3% to $3,044.50 and tin added 1.1% to $25,010 a tonne. ($1 = 6.9686 yuan) (Reporting by Naveen Thukral; editing by Uttaresh.V and Krishna Chandra Eluri)