06:44 AM EDT, 05/22/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets drifted lower Wednesday, as traders turned cautious on modestly higher bond yields and the pending earnings report from chipmaker and industry bellwether Nvidia (NVDA).

Hong Kong and Tokyo finished in the red, Shanghai was flat, and other regional exchanges were uneven.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened lower and could not recover, finishing off 0.8% as traders weighed values in a market trading near record highs while bond yields in Japan inch higher.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 329.83 to 38,617.10, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 176 to 49.

Leading the upside was electronics house Sharp, up 7.3%, while utility Tokyo Gas lost 5.2%.

Yields on benchmark 10-year Japanese government bonds touched above 1% for the first time in more than 10 years.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened evenly, wobbled, but slipped to close off 0.1%.

The broad gauge Hang Seng fell 25.02 to 19,195.60, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 39 to 37. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 0.3% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index rose 0.2%.

Leading the upside was computer maker Lenovo, gaining 12.2%, while Link REIT fell 4.4%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite was steady at 3,158.54.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI was steady; the Taiwan TWSE inclined 1.5%; the Australian ASX 200 was flat; and Singapore and Bangkok were closed on holiday. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was up 0.4%.