06:55 AM EDT, 05/07/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets were uneven Tuesday on positive cues from Wall Street, but profit-taking and tech-sector uncertainty on China exchanges.

Hong Kong fell back, Shanghai edged higher and Tokyo finished solidly in the green. Other regional exchanges were mixed on the north side.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened higher after a four-day weekend and finished up 1.6% on Wall Street cues, and hopes that inflation and interest rates may be on a down-glide after recent, softer US economic reports.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 599.03 to 38,835.10, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 152 to 71.

Leading the upside was precision-machine tools maker Disco, up 8.9%, while Sumitomo Pharma fell 3.5%.

In economic news, the final Japan services purchasing managers index touched an eight-month high of 54.3 in April, up from 54.1 in March, and rising further above the 50-marker that separates growth from contraction, reported S&P Global.

The Japan final composite PMI, a combination of the nation's manufacturing and service sectors, registered at 52.3 in April, up from 51.7 in March, added S&P Global.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened evenly but closed down 0.5% as traders booked profits after a bull run, and backed away from tech issues. The Hang Seng is still up more than 20% from early year lows.

The broad gauge Hang Seng fell 98.93 to 18,479.37, although gaining issues outnumbered losers 44 to 36. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 2.1% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index rose 0.8%.

Leading the upside was China Resources Land, gaining 3.7%, while online game-maker NetEase fell 5%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.2% to 3,147.74.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI rose 2.2%; the Taiwan TWSE inclined 0.6%; the Australian ASX 200 inclined 1.4%; the Singapore Straits Times Index fell 0.1%, and the Thai Set inclined 0.5%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was down 0.5%.