05:40 AM EST, 03/06/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets tracked choppily higher on Thursday, after Beijing reiterated promises to boost fiscal stimulus in 2025, and following Trump Administration statements that automobiles could be exempt from pending tariff hikes.

Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo finished in the green, while other regional exchanges were uneven.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened higher on overnight Wall Street cues and held ground, finishing up 0.8% on the evolving outlook for US tariffs on Japanese-made vehicles.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 286.69 to 37,704.93, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 164 to 61.

Leading the upside was Japan Steel Works, up 15.9%, while Mitsubishi Logistics declined 4.8%.

In economic news, yields on benchmark 10-year Japanese government bonds struck above 1.50%, the highest interest rate offered since June 2009.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened higher and rose to the close on vows from the ongoing National People's Congress session in Beijing to boost fiscal stimulus in 2025, and ease monetary policies.

The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 775.50 to 24,369.71, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 68 to 14. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 5.4% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index rose 4.2%.

Leading the upside was social-media platform Kuaishou Technology, gaining 15.7%, while tool-maker Techtronic declined 2.2%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 1.2% to 3,381.10.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI rose 0.7%; the Taiwan TWSE declined 0.7%; the Australian ASX 200 declined 0.6%; the Singapore Straits Times Index rose 0.5%, and the Thai Set declined 1.4%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was up 0.9%.