05:57 AM EST, 11/04/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets churned Wednesday as traders followed overnight gains of tech shares on Wall Street, and monitored US midterm election results.

Hong Kong and Shanghai finished in the green, while Tokyo fell back. Other regional exchanges were also mixed.

Brent crude futures traded down 1.4% at $102.15 a barrel, during Asian market hours.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened evenly after a one-day hiatus, but fell to the bell, closing down 1.4% as investors leaned away from AI-related issues, and awaited clarity on US election outcomes.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 dropped 893.23 to 62,188.63, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 149 to 73.

Leading the upside was delivery-service Yamato, up nearly 12% after reporting earnings, while Mitsui Chemical declined 10%.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened evenly and rose to the close, concluding up 1.7% on strength in tech issues, and after the People's Bank of China said it will indirectly help finance corporate stock buybacks.

The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 393.53 to 23,919.50, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 65 to 27. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 1.8% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index rose 0.3%.

Leading the upside was Hua Hong Grace Semiconductor, gaining 16%, while personal-products maker Hengan International declined 2.3%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 2.2% to 3,686.17.

In economic news, the final China general services business activity index logged at 50.8 last month, down from 51.6 in September, but still striking above the 50-mark that separates growth from contraction, S&P Global reported.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI rose 0.6%; the Taiwan TWSE declined 0.8%; the Australian ASX 200 lost 0.6%; the Singapore Straits Times Index was flat, and the Thai Set rose 0.7%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was up 0.6%.

The MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index was steady on the day.

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