06:42 AM EDT, 05/27/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets were choppy Tuesday as traders weighed possible moves by the Bank of Japan and an industrial profits report from Beijing while awaiting fresh cues from Wall Street.

Hong Kong and Tokyo finished in the green, while Shanghai lost ground. Other regional exchanges were also uneven.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened lower, but rose to the close after a softening yen boosted export issues.

The yen weakened on media reports that the Bank of Japan may plan to buy less Japanese government bonds, which would tend to leave more yen in circulation and reduce yen exchange rates.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 192.58 to 37,724.11, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 156 to 65.

Leading the upside was Kawasaki Heavy Industries, up 4.6%, while online marketplace Rakuten declined 2.3%.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index rallied in the afternoon session, following a report on mainland China industrial profits.

The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 99.66 to 23,381.99 as gaining issues outnumbered losers 51 to 28. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 0.5% on the day, but the Mainland Properties Index fell 0.1 %.

Leading the upside was CSPC Pharmaceutical, gaining 5.8%, while auto dealer Zhongsheng Group fell 3.6%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.2% to 3,340.69.

In economic news, profits of mainland China industrial companies rose 3% on year last month, the National Bureau of Statistics reported.

In the four months through April, industrial profits in China were up 1.4% on year, added the NBS.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI fell 0.3%; the Taiwan TWSE declined 0.9%; the Australian ASX 200 inclined 0.6%; the Singapore Straits Times Index rose 0.5%, and the Thai Set declined 1.3%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was down 0.7%.

The Stoxx Asia/Pacific 600 Index rose 0.2% on the day.