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Bond Yields, Oil Prices Cap Asian Stock Markets

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Asian stock markets were mixed on Friday, as traders weighed rising bond yields and Persian Gulf turmoil.

Hong Kong finished in the green, Shanghai was flat and Tokyo lost ground. Other regional exchanges were mixed on the high side.

Brent crude futures traded up 0.3% to $94.04 during Asian trading hours.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened lower on Wall Street cues and waffled, finishing off 0.3%, as traders weighed Japanese government bond yields near 30-year highs.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 200.43 to 66,016.36, although gaining issues outnumbered losers 135 to 85.

Leading the upside was shipping-line Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, up 7.3%, while Japan Steel Works fell 4.7%.

In economic news, Japan's consumer price index-core (CPI-core), that strips out fresh foods, rose 1.8% on year in July, up from a 1.6% on-year gain in June, reported the Statistics Bureau of Japan.

Japan's composite purchasing managers index (PMI), a combination of the manufacturing and services industries, rose to 53.4 in August from 52.7 in July, and struck further above the 50-mark that separates growth from contraction, reported S&P Global.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened higher and rose to the close, finishing up 1.2% on earnings-season reports, and strength in property and tech issues.

The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 310.97 to 26,009.46, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 76 to 15. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 1.4% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index rose 1.3%.

Leading the upside was Laopu Gold, lifting 7.5%, while CSPC Pharmaceutical declined 3.5%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite closed flat at 3,905.20.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI rose 0.9%; the Taiwan TWSE inclined 0.7%; the Australian ASX 200 declined 0.3%; the Singapore Straits Times Index rose 0.3%, and the Thai Set inclined 0.2%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was steady.

The MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index rose 0.9% on the day.

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Dow Jones^EEM^EXI^FAS^FAZ^GLD^IBB^IGM^IGV^IPK^IVV^IWMNasdaq Composite^IYE^IYH^IYJ^IYK^IYW^PMR^QQQ^RTH^SOXXS&P 500^SPY^UNG^USO^VDC^VHT^VIS^XLE^XLF^XLI^XLK^XLP^XLV^XRT^XSD$BETH$BITO$EETH