06:52 AM EDT, 09/18/2023 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets largely drifted lower Monday, undercut by the uncertain outlook for China property markets and the pending rate decision by the US Federal Reserve, slated for Wednesday.

Hong Kong declined, as did most regional exchanges, while Tokyo was closed on holiday. Shanghai edged higher.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng opened lower and could not recover, finishing down 1.4%, as property and tech issues pulled lower.

The broad gauge Hang Seng fell 252.34 to 17,930.55, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 69 to eight. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 2.2% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index lost 2%.

Leading the upside was Macau gaming house Galaxy Entertainment, up 1.8%, while Semiconductor Manufacturing International declined 5.1%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.3% to 3,125.93.

In economic news, foreign direct investment into mainland China posted at 847.17 billion yuan ($116.13 billion) in the first eight months of the year, down 5.1% from the same period of 2022, the Ministry of Commerce reported Friday.

Also, China's general public budget revenue increased 10% on year to 15.18 trillion yuan in the first eight months of 2023, the Ministry of Finance reported Friday.

On the other regional exchanges, the South Korean Kospi fell 1%; the Taiwan TWSE declined 1.3%; the Australian ASX 200 declined 0.7%; the Singapore Straits Times Index fell 0.5%, and the Thai Set declined 1%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was down 0.4%.

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