06:37 AM EDT, 08/26/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets tracked moderately higher Wednesday after crude oil prices again eased, and as traders took positions ahead of the pending earnings report from semiconductor- and AI-industry bellwether Nvidia (NVDA).

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

Brent crude oil futures fell again, down 2.5% to $85.15 a barrel during Asian market hours, on the heels of a similar decline on Tuesday.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened evenly but gained in the afternoon, finishing up 0.6% as traders waded back into tech issues.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 405.73 to 66,262.16, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 124 to 96.

Leading the upside was Mitsubishi Materials, up 6%, while silicon-wafer maker Sumco declined 3.9%.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened higher and held ground, closing up 0.6% as long-struggling property shares regained favor.

The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 141.87 to 25,652.97, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 50 to 39. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 0.8% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index rose 2.4%.

Innovent Biologics led the upside, gaining 9.7%, while knitwear-maker Shenzhou International fell 6.9%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.6% to 3,912.52.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI rose 1%; the Taiwan TWSE inclined 1.5%; the Australian ASX 200 declined 0.4%; the Singapore Straits Times Index fell 0.3%, and the Thai Set inclined 0.4%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex dropped 0.24%.

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

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