06:36 AM EDT, 05/13/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets largely gained ground on Wednesday, as earnings results and tech-sector optimism more than offset concerns regarding rising crude prices and Persian Gulf turmoil.

Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo finished in the green, as did most other regional exchanges.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened evenly and rose to the close, finishing up 0.8% as a strong earnings season continued to undergird share prices.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 529.54 to 63,272.11, striking a fresh all-time high, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 157 to 64.

Leading the upside was medical-device outfit Olympus, up 19.8%, while construction enterprise Shimizu declined 9.7%, with both moves following earnings reports.

In economic news, the seasonally adjusted Economy Watchers Survey current conditions index fell to 40.8 in April from 42.2 in March, the lowest reading since 2022.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened evenly, waffled but finished up 0.2%

The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 40.53 to 26,388.44 as losing issues outnumbered gainers 51 to 35. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 0.5% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index fell 0.3%.

Leading the upside was JD.com, gaining 8.3%, while Geely Automobile declined 5.2%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.7% to 4,242.57.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI rose 2.6%, again hitting a new all-time high on AI-sector optimism.

The Taiwan TWSE declined 1.3%; the Australian ASX 200 declined 0.5%; the Singapore Straits Times Index rose 1.2%, and the Thai Set inclined 2.3%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was steady.

The MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index rose 0.6% on the day.

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