06:09 AM EST, 02/26/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets largely rallied Thursday, after US-based tech bellwether and chipmaker Nvidia's (NVDA) fiscal Q4 results overnight topped Wall Street's estimates, somewhat quelling AI-related concerns.

Tokyo and Seoul finished in the green at fresh record zeniths, while Shanghai was flat and Hong Kong lost ground. Other regional exchanges were mixed.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened higher and held ground, finishing up 0.3% after Nvidia's earnings report and on prospects for more government stimulus.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 170.27 to 58,753.39, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 143 to 76.

Leading the upside was software-testing outfit Shift, up 14%, while electronics-maker Taiyo Yuden declined 4.7%.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened evenly but declined in trading, finishing off 1.4% as trader demand for China-based tech issues ebbed.

The broad gauge Hang Seng fell 384.70 to 26,381.02 as losing issues outnumbered gainers 71 to 17. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 2.9% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index fell 2%.

Leading the upside was CK Infrastructure, gaining 4.5%, while auto-dealer chain Zhongsheng declined nearly 11%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite was almost flat at 4,146.63.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI rose 3.7%; the Taiwan TSE was flat; the Australian ASX 200 inclined 0.5%; the Singapore Straits Times Index fell 0.9%, and the Thai Set rose 1.2%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was up 0.1%.

The MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index rose 0.5% on the day.

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