06:33 AM EDT, 07/31/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets largely gained Wednesday after the Bank of Japan modestly tightened up on monetary policy and Beijing released a soft industrial report for July.

Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo finished in the green while other regional exchanges also largely finished higher, with the Australian ASX 200 index adding 1.8% to strike an all-time record high.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened lower but rose to the close, finishing up 1.5% after modest policy tightening by the Bank of Japan boosted outlooks for earnings of financial concerns.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 575.87 to 39,101.82, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 186 to 38.

Leading the upside was diversified tech outfit Screen Holdings, up 9.2%, while Oriental Land fell 5.9%.

In economic news, the Bank of Japan disclosed it will guide certain short-term rates to about 0.25%, up from the previous 0% to 0.1% range, and will reduce central bank purchases of Japanese government bonds, a move that will also tend to raise interest rates.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened evenly and rallied, finishing up 2%.

The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 341.69 to 17,344.60, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 72 to four. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 3% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index rose 2.1%.

Leading the upside was Wuxi Biologics, up 9.7%, while Hang Seng Bank lost 5.8%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 2.1% to 2,938.75.

In economic news, the official China manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) dropped to 49.4 in July from 49.5 in June, slipping further below the 50-marker that separates growth from contraction. The non-manufacturing PMI declined to 50.2 in July from 50.5 in June, added the National Bureau of Statistics.

The sluggish July industrial report lifted trading-floor hopes that Beijing will soon boost macroeconomic stimulus, reported the South China Morning Post.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI rose 1.2%; the Taiwan TWSE declined 0.1%; the Singapore Straits Times Index rose 0.4%, and the Thai Set inclined 1%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was up 0.4%.