06:42 AM EDT, 08/24/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets were pressured on Monday as tech shares fell back on rising interest rates, and after China's e-commerce colossus Alibaba (BABA) revealed plans to issue shares at a discount to the market.

Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo finished in the red, as did most other regional exchanges, led by 3.1% divot on Seoul's semiconductor-laden KOSPI index.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened evenly but slipped in trading, finishing off 0.7% after tech shares sank on cues in Wall Street futures markets, and on same-day reverses on South Korean exchanges.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 488.27 to 65,528.09, although gaining issues outnumbered losers 123 to 96, as declines were largely confined to AI- and semiconductor-exposed issues.

Leading the upside was Sumitomo Metal Mining, up 3.2%, while memory-chip maker Kioxia fell 6.2%.

In other market news, tech-financier SoftBank disclosed it plans to issue 1 trillion yen ($6.28 billion) in unsecured bonds, due 2033. SoftBank said the bonds will yield between 4.3% and 4.9% in annual interest, and proceeds will be used to pay down debt and make AI-related investments, reported The Mainichi newspaper.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index closed down 1.9% after Alibaba said it would sell $10.2 billion of new shares at an 8.4% discount to Friday's close, to fund investments in chip production, and in AI infrastructure and models.

The broad gauge Hang Seng fell 492.13 to 25,517.33, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 75 to 17. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 3.6% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index fell 1.4%.

Leading the upside was China Petroleum & Chemical, gaining 5.9%, while Alibaba declined 8.5% to lead the downside.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.6% to 3,882.01.

On the other regional exchanges, the Taiwan TWSE declined 1%; the Australian ASX 200 rose 0.5%; the Singapore Straits Times Index fell 0.1%, and the Thai Set declined 0.8%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was down 0.2%.

The MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index fell 1.1% on the day.

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