06:47 AM EDT, 06/20/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets were uneven Thursday, after the People's Bank of China maintained its monetary regime but Wall Street tech-sector futures pointed higher.

Tokyo finished in the green but Hong Kong and Shanghai fell back, while other regional exchanges were mixed.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened lower on European political outlooks but rose to the close, finishing up 0.2% on strength in tech issues.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 62.26 to 38,633.02, although losing issues outnumbered gainers 141 to 82.

Leading the upside was semiconductor-test equipment maker Advantest, up 3.7%, while beverage house Sapporo declined 3.1%.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened evenly but finished down 0.5% after China's central bank again failed to provide rate relief, undercutting property issues.

The broad gauge Hang Seng fell 95.07 to 18,335.32, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 64 to 16. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 1.7% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index fell 2.5%.

Leading the upside was state oil giant CNOOC, gaining 3.5%, while hot-pot dining chain HaiDiLao lost 5.9%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.4% to 3,005.44.

In economic news, The People's Bank of China held its one-year loan prime rate at 3.45%, while the five-year rate, a benchmark for mortgages, remained unchanged at 3.95%.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI rose 0.4%; the Taiwan TWSE added 0.9%; the Australian ASX 200 was flat; the Singapore Straits Times Index retreated 0.1%, and the Thai Set declined 0.4%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was up 0.2%.