Oil, Tech Outlooks Gyrate Asian Stock Markets

Asian stock markets gyrated Thursday, as traders weighed ongoing Persian Gulf hostilities, crude oil prices, and rich valuations in the tech sector.

Hong Kong gained ground, but Shanghai and Tokyo finished in red, while Seoul's semiconductor-heavy KOSPI Index declined 6.4%.

Brent oil topped $85 a barrel during Asian trading hours.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened lower and declined thereafter, finishing off 2.8% as chip stocks fell back.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 1,915.97 to 66,835.54, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 138 to 85.

Leading the upside was Mitsubishi Motors, up 6.4%, while memory-chip maker Kioxia declined 15%.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened higher and held ground, closing up 1.3% on gains in property issues.

The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 327.50 to 25,008.60, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 71 to 22. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 2% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index rose 3.2%.

Leading the upside was toymaker Pop Mart International, gaining 6.9%, while computer maker Lenovo declined 6.7%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite fell 1.9 % to 3,882.41.

In corporate news, industry bellwether Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) reported a year-over-year revenue rise of 36% in Q2, while net profit gained by 77.4%, topping outlooks. Nevertheless, shares traded down 4.2% pre-bell in New York, possibly on concerns regarding rising capital outlays.

On the other regional exchanges, the Taiwan TWSE was steady; the Australian ASX 200 was largely unchanged; the Singapore Straits Times Index fell 0.1%, and the Thai Set rose 0.3%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was even.

The MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index fell 1.4% on the day.