06:39 AM EDT, 09/23/2026 (MT Newswires) -- A Beijing probe into two prominent AI start-ups and a bounce in global crude oil prices churned Asian stock markets on Wednesday.

Hong Kong and Shanghai finished in the red on declining tech shares, while Tokyo remained closed on holiday. Other regional exchanges largely notched gains.

Brent crude futures traded up 0.5% to $99.73 a barrel during Asian market hours.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened lower and slipped thereafter, finishing down 1% following media reports that China's internet regulator, the Cyberspace Administration, is scrutinizing AI startups DeepSeek and Moonshot AI for national security breaches.

The agency is reviewing whether the AI companies routed live user prompts and data through Anthropic's Claude AI model, thus potentially exposing Beijing military and other data to US-based enterprises.

Moonshot and DeepSeek are privately held, but shares in listed AI-related companies in Hong Kong fell on the news, including 12.4% selloff in Z.ai, a Beijing-based AI modeler.

The broad gauge Hang Seng fell 253.63 to 24,834.12, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 60 to 31. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 1.3% on the day, although the Mainland Properties Index rose 1.2%.

Leading the upside was Li Auto, gaining 2.6%, while e-commerce and AI colossus Alibaba declined 4.4%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.4% to 3,936.52.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI rose 0.9%; the Taiwan TWSE gained 0.8%; the Australian ASX 200 advanced 0.1%; the Singapore Straits Times Index fell 0.2%, and the Thai Set rose 0.4%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was up 0.3%

The MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index rose 0.1% on the day.

In other news, the S&P Global flash India composite purchasing managers index, or PMI, rose to 56.5 in September from 54.3 in August, and struck further above the 50-mark that separates growth from contraction.

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