05:48 AM EST, 11/30/2023 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets generally tracked higher on Thursday as traders bought in after recent softness and weighed softer global interest rates.

Yields on benchmark 10-year Japanese government bonds declined marginally to 0.670 percent, the lowest level in nearly three months.

Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Tokyo finished in the green, as did most other regional exchanges.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened lower but rose to close, finishing up 0.5% as tech issues followed overnight gains in US peers.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 165.67 to 33,486.89, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 154 to 65.

Leading the upside was semiconductor-test equipment maker Advantest, up 4.3%, while cosmetics house Shiseido fell 5.1%.

In economic news, Japan's index of industrial production rose 1% in October from September, and was 0.9% on year, reported the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng opened evenly and wobbled but finished up 0.3% as property issues gained.

The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 49.44 to 17,042.88, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 58 to 19. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 0.3% on the day, but the Mainland Properties Index rose 1.1%.

Leading the upside was Hansoh Pharmaceuticals, up 4.6%, while Alibaba Health Information Technology brought up the rear, falling 3.9%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.3% to 3,029.67.

In economic news, Beijing's official manufacturing purchasing manager's index (PMI) fell to 49.4 in November from 49.5 in October, slipping further below the 50-marker that separates growth from contraction.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI rose 0.6%; the Taiwan TWSE inclined 0.4%; the Australian ASX 200 inclined 0.7%; the Singapore Straits Times Index fell 0.4%, and the Thai Set declined 0.5%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was up 0.1%.

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