06:50 AM EDT, 06/27/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets largely tracked lower Thursday after a soft industrial profit report from China, declines in tech issues and concerns regarding the weak Japanese yen.

Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo finished solidly in the red, as did most other regional exchanges. However, Mumbai equity indices bucked trends to strike fresh all-time record zeniths.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened lower and could not recover, finishing off 0.8% as traders mulled whether the Bank of Japan would take steps to boost the floundering foreign exchange rate of the Japanese yen.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 325.53 to 39,341.54, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 129 to 94.

Leading the upside was conglomerate Hitachi, up 3.7%, while diversified tech outfit Screen Holdings lost 5.7%.

In economic news, the yen traded at more than 160 to the US dollar, testing 38-year lows against the greenback.

In other news, Japan's economy is still growing moderately, but there are concerns due to high foreign interest rates and sluggish global expansion, the Cabinet Office said in its monthly report on the nation's economic picture.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened lower and traveled south, finishing off 2.1% after a dull factory profits report from Beijing.

The broad gauge Hang Seng fell 373.46 to 17,716.47, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 77 to four. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 2.7% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index also fell 2.7%.

Leading the upside was toolmaker Techtronic, gaining 1.8%, while Nongfu Spring retreated 7.4%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite declined 0.9% to 2,945.85.

In economic news, profits at larger industrial enterprises in mainland China in May rose 0.7% on-year, softening from a 4% on-year gain posted in April, the National Bureau of Statistics reported.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI fell 0.3%; the Taiwan TWSE declined 0.4%; the Australian ASX 200 lost 0.3%; the Singapore Straits Times Index added 0.4%, and the Thai Set retreated 0.7%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was up 0.7%.