06:53 AM EDT, 10/18/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets closed unevenly higher Friday, led by China-exposed exchanges on the outlook for increased stimulus from Beijing after the release of tempered Q3 official reports on the nation's economy.

Hong Kong and Shanghai finished higher and Tokyo edged in the green, while other regional exchanges were mixed.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened higher on Wall Street cues, wobbled, but finished up 0.2% as traders weighed pending national elections and earnings reports. Bank and tech issues gained.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 70.56 to 38,981.75, although losing issues outnumbered gainers 132 to 88.

Leading the upside was semiconductor-manufacturing equipment maker Disco, up 7.7%, while Tokyo Electric Power declined 3.1%.

In economic news, Japan's headline consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.5% on year in September, cooling from the 3% on-year gain logged in August, reported the Statistics Bureau.

The nation's core CPI, that excludes fresh food, rose 2.4% on year, down from a 2.8% on-year gain in August.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened evenly and rose to the close, after the release of soft China Q3 economic figures.

The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 725.01 to 20,804.11, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 80 to two. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 5.8% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index rose 3.5%.

Leading the upside was Semiconductor Manufacturing International, gaining 16.3% on the global rally in chip-maker issues, while utility holding company Power Assets fell 0.2%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 2.9% to 3,261.56.

In economic news, China's Q3 gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 4.6% on year, a little below Beijing's annual growth target of 5%, reported the National Bureau of Statistics.

China's retail sales in September rose 3.2% on year, and industrial production climbed 5.4%, added the NBS.

In other news, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) disclosed details of a $42.2 billion re-lending program to finance stock buybacks or equity-stake increases by qualified listed companies.

In addition, the PBOC Governor Pan Gongsheng said interest rate cuts and other easing measures are on the table for this year, while speaking at a financial forum, reported the South China Morning Post.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI fell 0.6%; the Taiwan TWSE inclined 1.9%; the Australian ASX 200 declined 0.9%; the Singapore Straits Times Index rose 0.4%, and the Thai Set declined 0.3%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was up 0.3%.

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