06:56 AM EDT, 03/28/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets were uneven Thursday as China-related exchanges were favored on sentiments that Beijing will boost support for the economy and foreign enterprise, but selling prevailed elsewhere.

Hong Kong and Shanghai gained while Tokyo finished in the red and other regional exchanges were choppy.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened lower and did not recover, finishing down 1.5% as many issues went ex-dividend before the end of the fiscal year and traders booked profits in a market trading near record highs.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 594.66 to 40,168.07, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 172 to 53.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries led the upside, gaining 11.1%, while Central Japan Railway lost 4.2%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index opened steady and rallied, finishing up 0.9% after Beijing hosted Western corporate executives and vowed more economic stimulus.

The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 148.58 to 16,541.42, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 48 to 30. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 2.5% while the Mainland Properties Index rose 0.7%.

Leading the upside was auto-dealer chain Zhongsheng, up 10.2%, while Country Garden Services declined 4.9%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.6% to 3,010.66.

In economic news, mainland China President Xi Jinping pledged more policy support for businesses at a Beijing meeting on Wednesday with more than a dozen US corporate leaders including Blackstone, Pfizer, and Qualcomm, reported the South China Morning Post.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI fell 0.3%; the Taiwan TWSE declined 0.3%; the Australian ASX 200 inclined 1%; the Singapore Straits Times Index fell 0.9%, and the Thai Set declined 0.8%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was up 0.9%.

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