06:45 AM EDT, 05/15/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets were uneven Wednesday, as traders awaited the pending inflation report from Washington and weighed fresh trade tensions between the US and China.

Tokyo finished modestly in the green, Shanghai fell back, and Hong Kong was closed on holiday. Other regional exchanges were mixed.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened higher on tech-sector gains but weakened through the day, finishing up a scant 0.1% as investors watched the Japanese yen gain strength against the US dollar, undercutting export issues.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 29.67 to 38,385.73, although losing issues outnumbered gainers 132 to 93.

Leading the upside was department store chain Isetan Mitsukoshi, up 3.6% after reporting earnings, while furnishings company Nitori lost 16.1%, also after releasing financial results.

In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.8% to 3,119.90 as traders weighed rising trade tensions between the US and China and new tariffs on Chinese products proposed by Washington, including EVs.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI rose 0.1%; the Taiwan TWSE inclined 0.8%; the Australian ASX 200 inclined 0.4%; the Singapore Straits Times Index fell 0.7%, and the Thai Set inclined 0.1%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was down 0.1%.

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