-- Asian stock markets largely declined on Tuesday, as traders booked profits on tech-sector issues and weighed Middle East outlooks.
Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo finished in the red, as did most other regional exchanges, although Seoul's KOSPI index rose 0.4% to strike another fresh all-time zenith.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened lower and sank to the close, finishing off 1% as traders sold off AI- and semiconductor-related issues.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 619.90 to 59,917.46, although gaining issues outnumbered losers 183 to 41, as declines were largely restricted to tech plays.
Leading the upside was diversified finance house Orix, gaining 9.8%, while tech-financiers SoftBank fell 9.9%.
In economic news, the Bank of Japan held its short-term policy rate at 0.75% by a 6-3 vote, leaving the rate unchanged since last December.
The central bank forecast that the nation's consumer price index-core (CPI-core), that strips out fresh food prices, will rise 2.8% in fiscal 2026 (started April 1), up from the 1.9% estimate in January.
In addition, the Bank of Japan lowered its forecast for gross domestic product (GDP) growth to 0.5% for the fiscal year, down from 1% in its the previous outlook.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened lower and could not recover, closing down 1% as tech and property issues lagged.
The broad gauge Hang Seng fell 245.87 to 25,679.78, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 61 to 28. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 2.3% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index fell 1%.
Leading the upside was Wuxi AppTec, gaining 13.6% after reporting earnings, while Contemporary Amperex Technology declined 6.9%.
On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.2% to 4,078.64.
On the other regional exchanges, the Taiwan TWSE declined 0.2%; the Australian ASX 200 declined 0.6%; the Singapore Straits Times Index fell 0.1%, and the Thai Set inclined 0.1%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was down 0.6%.
MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index fell 0.4% on the day.