Asian stock markets were mixed on the upside Monday as traders weighed Persian Gulf outlooks and prospects for AI- and tech-related shares.
Hong Kong and Tokyo finished in the green, while Shanghai edged lower. Other regional exchanges largely gained, including fresh record highs on equity indices in Seoul and Taiwan.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened evenly and rose to the close, finishing up 0.9% as tech shares gained.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 604.83 to 66,934.33, another all-time high, although losing issues outnumbered gainers 154 to 70, as upsides were concentrated in tech issues.
Leading gainers was tech financier SoftBank, up 14%, while chemical concern Denka declined 7.3%.
In economic news, capital spending in Japan in Q1 was largely unchanged from a year earlier, reported the Ministry of Finance.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index closed up 0.9% on strength in property and tech issues.
The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 215.79 to 25,378.18, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 65 to 24. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 1.7% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index rose 2.4%.
Leading the upside was Laopu Gold, gaining 7.7%, while Innovent Biologics declined 2.9%.
On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.3% to 4,057.74.
On the other regional exchanges, the South Korean KOSPI rose 3.7%; the Taiwan TWSE advanced 1.3%; the Australian ASX 200 was steady, and in late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was down 0.7%. Exchanges in Singapore and Bangkok were closed on holiday.
The MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index rose 0.9% on the day.