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Tech Rally Undergirds Asian Stock Markets

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Asian stock markets largely gained ground on Monday as traders toggled the risk-on switch on tech shares, on cues from Wall Street.

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

Brent crude oil traded up 1% to $89.42 a barrel during Asian market hours.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened evenly and rose to the close after a tempered national economic release from Tokyo, and on strength in semiconductor issues.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 506.45 to 69,220.25, although losing issues outnumbered gainers 146 to 76, as the upside was largely limited to the tech sector.

Leading gainers was memory-chip maker Kioxia, up 15.1%, while cyber-security outfit Trend Micro declined 8.5%.

In economic news, Japan's Q2 gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annualized real 1.1% rate, the Cabinet Office reported. The moderate rise in Q2 GDP could stall Bank of Japan plans for rate hikes.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened higher and held ground, after a slate of tepid economic releases from Beijing.

The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 336.38 to 25,453.23, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 68 to 24. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 1.6% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index fell 0.1%.

Leading the upside was shipping line Orient Overseas International, gaining 7.3%, while computer-maker Lenovo declined 1.7%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 1.4% to 3,982.65.

In economic news, mainland China's retail sales grew a scant 0.6% in July on year, reported the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The nation's fixed-asset investment, including real estate and infrastructure, contracted 6.7% in the January to July period, versus the same months in 2025.

China's new home prices across 70 cities fell 3.2% on-year in July.

The nation's industrial output rose 4.5% in July on year, reported the NBS.

On the other regional exchanges, South Korean trading floors were dark on holiday; the Taiwan TWSE inclined 0.1%; the Australian ASX 200 declined 0.5%; the Singapore Straits Times Index rose 0.4%, and the Thai Set inclined 1.1%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was down 0.4%.

The MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index rose 0.3% on the day.

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