06:33 AM EDT, 06/14/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets were mixed and largely muted Friday, as traders weighed foreign-exchange rates and pending economic reports from Beijing.

Hong Kong fell back, but Shanghai and Tokyo edged into the green. Other regional exchanges were subdued.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened lower but rose to the close, finishing up 0.3% after Bank of Japan policy-meeting results were considered dovish. A softer yen boosted export issues.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 94.09 to 38,814.56, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 159 to 63.

Leading the upside was electrical equipment maker Fujikura, up 6.3%, while drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo lost 3.1%.

In economic news, the Japanese yen traded near 158 to the US dollar, testing 38-year lows.

In other news, the Bank of Japan said that in July the central bank will release details on reductions in its bond-buying programs.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index finished down 0.9% as traders took to the sidelines before key economic release from Beijing on Monday, including retail sales and industrial production bulletins.

The broad gauge Hang Seng fell 170.85 to 17,941.78, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 58 to 21. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 0.8% on the day, but the Mainland Properties Index gained 1.4%.

Leading the upside was property company Longfor, gaining 4%, while Chow Tai Fook Jewelry lost 8.9% after reporting earnings.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.1% to 3,032.63

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI rose 0.1%; the Taiwan TWSE inclined 0.9%; the Australian ASX 200 declined 0.3%; the Singapore Straits Times Index fell 0.8%, and the Thai Set declined 0.2%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was up 0.2%.