05:56 AM EST, 11/20/2023 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets were choppy on Monday, as traders weighed Beijing's plans to boost the nation's property sector, and eyed a rise in the foreign exchange rate of the Japanese yen.

Hong Kong and Shanghai finished higher, while Tokyo lost ground. Other regional exchanges were largely mixed and muted.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened north to strike a fresh 33-year high but closed down 0.6% as traders in the afternoon session booked profits. A stronger yen undercut export issues.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 197.17 to 33,388.03, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 163 to 62.

Leading the upside was insurer Tokio Marine, up 5.6% after reporting earnings, while exporter Mazda Motor fell 6.1%.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng opened higher and rose to the close, finishing up 1.9% on more cues from Beijing that it plans to extend support to the nation's struggling property sector.

The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 323.88 to 17,778.07, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 74 to six. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 2.5% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index rose 1.5%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.5% to 3,068.32.

The gains on China exchanges happened after Beijing "regulators said they would support the financing activities of property developers," reported the South China Morning Post.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI rose 0.9%; the Taiwan TWSE was flat; the Australian ASX 200 inclined 0.1%; the Singapore Straits Times Index fell 0.4%, and the Thai Set inclined 0.3%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was off 0.2%.

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