06:42 AM EDT, 09/13/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets churned Friday of foreign-exchange movements, and the outlook for major central bank policies.

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

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened lower and could not recover, finishing off 0.7% as traders assessed values after Thursday's large rallies, and mulled a stronger yen, which tends to depress reported earnings of exporting enterprises.

The yen's recent rise in part reflects anticipation that the US Federal Reserve will soon starting easing monetary policies, which will likely pressure US dollar exchange rates.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 251.51 to 36,581.76 as losing issues outnumbered gainers 164 to 60.

Leading the upside was Kawasaki Heavy Industries, up 7.3%, while Astellas Pharma declined 4.7%.

In economic news, industrial production in Japan rose 2.9% in July on year, and gained 3.1% from June, reported the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened higher and held ground, finishing up 0.8% on speculation of pending easing by Beijing's central bank.

The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 128.70 to 17,369.09 as gaining issues outnumbered losers 67 to 15. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 0.1% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index rose 1.2%.

Leading the upside was Zijin Mining, gaining 3.9%, while Budweiser Brewing APAC lost 3.7%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.5% to 2,704.09.

In other news, the People's Bank of China may cut mortgage rates by up to 50 basis points this month, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI rose 0.1%; the Taiwan TWSE rose 0.5%; the Australian ASX 200 inclined 0.3%; the Singapore Straits Times Index rose 0.2%, and the Thai Set inclined 0.2%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was down 0.1%.

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