06:39 AM EDT, 03/25/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets churned Tuesday, as traders looked to Beijing for macroeconomic stimulus and to Wall Street for cues.

Tokyo finished in the green, but Hong Kong lost ground and Shanghai finished flat. Other regional exchanges were mixed and muted.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened higher on the Street signals and held ground, finishing up 0.5% as traders weighed reports that the Trump administration's tariffs may be tempered.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 172.05 to 37,780.54, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 153 to 66.

Leading the upside was video game-maker Nexon, up 9%, while semiconductor-test equipment maker Advantest declined 3.4%.

In economic news, rice prices in Japan struck a new record high at an average of $28 per five kilograms, reported the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. A lean crop year was cited for the higher prices.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened lower and declined to the close, finishing off 2.4% as traders booked profits from recent rallies, after a lack of signals from Beijing regarding macroeconomic stimulation.

The broad gauge Hang Seng fell 561.31 to 23,344.25, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 66 to 14. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 3.8% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index fell 1.2%.

Leading the upside was Hansoh Pharmaceutical, gaining 3.7%, while smartphone-components maker Sunny Optical Technology declined 10%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite was steady at 3,369.98.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI fell 0.6%; the Taiwan TWSE inclined 0.8%; the Australian ASX 200 inclined 0.1%; the Singapore Straits Times Index rose 0.5%, and the Thai Set declined 0.4%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was steady.

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