06:38 AM EDT, 06/24/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets were choppy Monday, as traders weighed mainland China's sluggish economy and foreign exchange fluctuations.

Hong Kong was flat, Shanghai lost ground, and Tokyo gained, while other regional exchanges were similarly mixed.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened lower but rose into the close, finishing up 0.5% as a softer yen aided export issues.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 advanced 208.18 to 38,804.65, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 161 to 63.

Leading the upside was NH Foods, up 5.5%, while online consumer-to-consumer marketplace Mercari lost 4.7%.

In economic news, the Japanese yen traded near 160 to the US dollar, testing a 38-year low against the greenback.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened lower but a late-session rally pushed the index to breakeven.

The broad gauge Hang Seng closed at 18,027.71, as gaining issues outnumbered losers, 39 to 37. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 0.7% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index fell 0.5%.

Leading the upside was Budweiser Brewing APAC, up 3.2%, while Semiconductor Manufacturing International lost 3.4%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite fell 1.2% to 2,963.10.

In economic news, foreign direct investment in mainland China declined 28.2% in the January-to-May period, compared with the same period a year ago, reported the Ministry of Commerce.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI fell 0.7%; the Taiwan TWSE declined 1.9%; the Australian ASX 200 declined 0.8%; the Singapore Straits Times Index rose 0.3%, and the Thai Set inclined 0.8%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was up 0.8%.