06:53 AM EDT, 07/19/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets fell back Friday on the uncertain outlook for Beijing macroeconomic policies and the global caution regarding tech issues.

Beijing-Washington trade tensions added to sell-off sentiments.

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

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened lower on Wall Street cues, waffled and finished down 0.2% as traders mulled tech issues and a reduced official forecast for Japan's economic growth in 2024.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 62.56 to 40,063.79, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 159 to 66.

Leading the upside was IT giant NEC, up 3.6%, while semiconductor manufacturing equipment maker Disco fell 4.6%.

In economic news, due to sluggish consumer spending, Japan's gross domestic product in fiscal 2024 started April 1 is now forecast to grow by 0.9% on year, revised downward from the previous outlook of 1.3%, the Cabinet Office disclosed.

Also, Japan's widely quoted core consumer price index, which strips out fresh food, rose 2.6% in June on year, following a 2.5% on-year gain in May, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened lower and declined to the close, finishing off 2% after a major Beijing policy-making session concluded without disclosures of plans to stimulate China's lagging economy and property sector.

The broad gauge Hang Seng fell 360.73 to 17,417.68, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 76 to five. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 2.1% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index fell 4.2%.

Leading the upside was Semiconductor Manufacturing International, gaining 1.9%, while property developer Longfor fell 6%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.2% to 2,982.31.

In other news, an important conference of the Chinese Communist Party concluded Thursday but without vows to invigorate China's economy or real estate sector. "China's four-day session ended yesterday, also known as the third plenum, and failed to make any major announcement aimed at promoting economic growth," reported the South China Morning Post.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI fell 1%; the Taiwan TWSE declined 2.3%; the Australian ASX 200 declined 0.8%; the Singapore Straits Times Index fell 0.7%, and the Thai Set declined 0.6%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was down 0.9%.